Matt's life in Buenos Aires

Islas Ballestas - The Poor Man's Galapagos

2011-08-21T18:28:00.001-03:00

This weekend, my final weekend in Peru before heading back to Buenos Aires, I took a trip south of Lima to Paracas and the Ballestas Islands. Often called "the poor man's Galapagos," the islands are chock full of sea life including penguins, pelicans, hundreds of other species of birds, sea lions, dolphins and much more.

The islands are protected and humans are only allowed to view the wildlife from boats. The trip from Paracas to the islands takes about an hour by high speed boat. On the way, you pass the Paracas Candelabra, a huge 600 foot geoglyph that is carved into the side of the hill and dates back to 200 BC.

According to Wikipedia, the group of three islands has narrow shorelines and cliffs that rise to flan areas that cover an area of 3.2 square kilometers. In the breeding season this is where birds build their nests with their own droppings. These droppings, the famous guano fertilizer, are harvested every 4-7 years.

After a several hour excursion around the islands, the group headed back to Paracas to dine on fresh seafood and explore the small city before heading to Chincha for a tour of a local vineyard that makes wine and pisco (Peru's national drink).

For more pictures, click here.

Colombia - the only risk is wanting to stay!

2011-08-16T03:10:00.000-03:00

After deciding to visit Bogota, Colombia this week, some of my friends/family asked me, “Why?” Colombia has a reputation for being the drug capital of the world and a place where kidnappings are a common occurrence. In some surveys, Colombia is still rated one of the top ten most dangerous countries in the world, but that is definitely not what I found after arriving in Bogota, the capital city.

While lacking the culture of Buenos Aires, it makes up for it in its charm and hospitality. I booked my hotel after seeing some excellent reviews of it in some of the travel magazines. I couldn’t have made a better decision. Located in the historical center of the city known as La Candelaria, I was close to a lot of the touristy sites like Plaza Bolivar, Museo del Oro and Montserrat but still just a $5.00 taxi ride away from the nightlife and restaurant scene.

I booked the hotel’s top floor suite, which consisted of two floors with a bedroom, a living/dining/office area and a second floor with another bedroom and a ceiling of windows overlooking the surrounding mountains and city.

While the architecture and history of the city was very impressive, what I found most charming were the people. Everywhere I went, everyone went out of their way to help. Two times I got lost, policemen walked me to the site I was looking for, even though it was 15 or 20 blocks away. One even took a bus with me to make sure I got there OK and then shook my hand and told me to enjoy his country.

Yesterday, I took a cable car to Montserrat, a mountain 10,000 feet above sea level offering a spectacular 360 degree view of Bogota and explored Plaza Bolivar, where many of the government buildings are situated.

Recently, to counter the negative image Colombia has because of its reputation in the media, it launched a public relations campaign to encourage tourism. Its slogan: “Colombia – The only risk is wanting to stay.” Very true. I was tempted to.

To see more photos from my trip, click here.

Iquitos – The Peruvian Amazon

2011-08-07T18:00:00.001-03:00

I am now in the largest city in the world that is accessible only by plane or by boat – Iquitos, Peru. Situated along the Amazon river, it’s the fourth largest city in Peru and just a short distance from both Brazil and Colombia.

After arriving in the city and enjoying an arrival dinner of alligator marinated in a curry sauce, and tasting of the local beer, I woke up early the next morning for the 80 kilometer boat ride to a small village of about 30 people who reside near the lodge I stayed in.

The first stop was to a village where we were treated to a welcome dance by the natives (who spoke only a local tribal language). The arrival lunch consisted of local fruits, rice, vegetables and a local deer (venison).

After lunch, a small group of us (me and two Russians who spoke neither English nor Spanish), ventured for a two-hour hike through the Amazon jungle, where we saw fire ants, two varieties of monkeys, a leaf frog, a small anaconda snake, as well as numerous birds I was not able to recognize.

Before dinner, the five local children who live in the village (and were there with their families who were selling souvenirs to those staying at the lodge) challenged me and a British girl to a game of soccer (futbol). We were also joined by a macaw who later stepped aside after getting clocked in the head with the ball.

I thought there was no way that five kids ranging in age from five to 13 could beat two adults, but just in case they lent us one of their younger ‘star’ players. After a full match (and having consumed 3 beers), I was dripping in sweat with a heart rate of probably 180 beats per minute. Needless to say, we lost.

That night, we took a boat out to the middle of the river, to observe the noises of the night. There weren’t caiman/alligators in this part of the Amazon, but we saw a lot of bats and heard quite a few birds and frogs.

This morning, we woke up at 5:30 for an early morning boat excursion to see the birds roosting. Later that morning, we stopped off at a local village which had received support from the US Rotary club to build a small bridge and visited another village, where two baby sloths were the resident pets.

This afternoon, we ventured out again by boat to observe beautiful pink dolphins in their natural habitat (too difficult to get photos, since they only surface for air very quickly) and later fished for piranha. I caught three (and the largest I might add) and one catfish. The guide even let me drive the boat for a while! We took the fish back to the lodge to cook up for lunch. I wasn’t overly impressed with the taste of the piranha but the catfish was quite tasty.

I’m now on another boat to the city of Iquitos where I will do a city tour and try some more of the local grub.

Click here to see the rest of the pictures from the trip!

Life in Lima

2011-07-26T14:12:00.000-03:00

After having decided that winters in Buenos Aires (June through August) are not really my cup of tea, I decided to spend this June in NY/CT/Miami and July/August in Lima, Peru. While it is winter here in Lima as well, the weather is much more moderate, with temperatures in the 60 degree range all day and night.

I spent a few months here in 2010 and enjoy the tranquility of the city as well as the great seafood, as it sits on the shores of the Pacific ocean. The apartment I'm staying in this visit is also in Miraflores, the cultural center of the city, with the best nightlife, restaurants and things to do.

This Thursday, July 28, is Peru's Independence Day (Dia de la Patria) and also the day its new President gets sworn into office, so there will be plenty of excitement in the city and a huge fireworks display at night over the ocean.

South Beach (Miami) and Key West

2011-07-09T19:54:00.000-03:00

Well, as the expression goes, all good things must come to an end. Today wraps up my vacation in South Beach and Key West and (as most of my life experiences seem to be), it's been a wild ride. The travel agent pulled a 'bait and switch' on me so the first night I stayed in a ghetto hotel. Thankfully, the next day (after an irate phone call or two from me) upgraded me to a hotel just a block from the beach and in the center of the action of South Beach.

The economy certainly does not seem to be affecting Miami, because I've seen more new Rolls Royces and Bentleys cruising around town than any of my other trips here. In fact, one of the Rolls Royce limos that pulled up in front of a restaurant I was dining at had, of all people, Don King in it. He was stopping in for drinks and graciously agreed to pose for photos and a short conversation.

Key West was incredible and is definitely a destination I'll return to. While there, I ate tons of local seafood, snorkeled in the only live coral reef in the US, para-glided and sea kayaked. Oh, and I drank a lot of Key West beer, too. It's just a three hour drive from Miami but well worth it!

June in the Northeast USA

2011-06-24T18:43:00.000-03:00

I can't believe it has been three weeks since I arrived back in Connecticut for a month in the USA. A news report in Argentina this week said this June will have been the coldest in Buenos Aires in decades so I think I made the right decision to visit this month!

In between my job, I've manged to find time to attend my niece's high school graduation, party the night away with a 97 year old friend of mine, spend a little bit of time in New York City and spend some time outdoors of course!

This Sunday, I'll be heading back to NYC with the family for a lunch buffet cruise around the Statue of Liberty and a week later, I'll be on a plane to Miami to spend some time on the beach and venturing out to Key West before returning back to cold Buenos Aires.

Back at La Cabrera

2011-05-27T11:57:00.000-03:00

My favorite restaurant in Buenos Aires is La Cabrera. It's a traditional parilla (steakhouse) that has gained international attention for the quality and size of its steaks. I went with a friend visiting from the US and a few other friends last night. We started with three huge appetizers (mollejas/sweetbread, a salad and chorizo sausage) followed by three huge entrees (Lomo de Pampona - sirloin stuffed with ham, cheese and roasted tomatoes, Ojo de Bife - a traditional cut of steak, and grilled chicken). We topped it off by polishing a few bottles of Lagarde Sauvignon Blanc and some Malbecs before calling it a night!

ArteBA

2011-05-27T11:52:00.000-03:00

Every year, Buenos Aires hosts one of the largest art exhibits in South America, featuring artists from as far away as Germany and the U.S. This year was the 20th ArteBA and it was quite a show. Hundreds of renowned artists and art galleries displayed their pieces of work for the crowds. I had the opportunity to meet Marta Minujim, who is most well known for her exhibits co-presented by Andy Warhol, as well as actor John Cusack who happened to be in Buenos Aires visiting his girlfriend.

The works of art varied from contemporary (a huge peace sign made out of Blackberrys) to traditional, as seen by the photos above.

Colonia del Sacramento...in style!

2011-05-07T22:09:00.000-03:00

Earlier in the week, I got impulsive and bought a ticket to visit Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay this weekend. I had been there a few times before and even took my parents there back in 2008, but it's still a great place to visit once or twice a year - especially this time of year when it's not too hot and not too cold.

Colonia is just a 40 kilometer boat ride form Buenos Aires, crossing over the Rio de la Plata, one of the widest river basins in the world. In fact, 1/2 way through the boat ride, you can't even see land on either side of the river. In the 1990's, Colonia was named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and has a fascinating history. During the 1700's, it switched from Spanish to Portuguese hands nine times with Spain eventually winning out until Uruguay became independent in the early 1800's. The architecture is evidence of the Spanish/Portuguese battles as both building styles are prominent.

After renting a golf cart to get around the historical city and explore the old bullring on the outskirts of town, I retired to the Sheraton Colonia Hotel and Spa for some well-needed relaxation and pampering. It was too cold to swim outside, but the indoor pool did quite fine and I even got a massage at the spa.

I finished the afternoon with a chivito (a piece of steak served on a roll with ham, bacon, cheese, fried egg, tomato and lettuce) - a traditional favorite with the Uruguayos. To see more photos from the trip, click here.

Easter at Gourmet Porteno

2011-04-25T13:47:00.003-03:00

After the Easter church service, I headed to Puerto Madero with a friend for a feast at Gourmet Porteno, one of the premier tenedor libres (buffets or literally, 'free fork') for Easter brunch. For just 120 pesos ($30 US), you could select as much (or little) as you wanted from their parilla (grill) with tons of steak, sweetbreads, chicken, etc. There was also a fresh pasta, sushi, paella and seafood station, with all of the dishes cooked right in front of your eyes. The dessert station had literally dozens upon dozens of cakes, pastries, flans, etc. and the wine was of a good quality.

We ended up filling our plates - and stomachs - for several hours before heading to Duhau Palace Park Hyatt for some Bloody Marys and to take in the ambience of what is probably one of the best hotels in South America. Happy Easter!

37th Annual Feria del Libro

2011-04-25T13:36:00.003-03:00

Every year, Buenos Aires plays host to one of the world's largest book fairs and attracts nearly one million attendees from across South America and the world. Those hosting lectures include prominent authors from Latin America, including Nobel Prize for Literature winner Mario Vargas Llosa. The event is held in La Rural and lasts two weeks. While most of the books were in Spanish, it provided an excellent opportunity to attend lectures, workshops and debates in a collegial environment. Many embassies, including the US, hosted booths with country-specific literature available. It's only 20 pesos for entry (students and teachers are free) and lasts until the 9th of May. For more information, you can visit their site directly by clicking here.

Mendoza, Argentina

2011-03-07T13:40:00.004-03:00

A small city on the eastern side of the Andes mountain chain, Mendoza, Argentina's claim to fame is the production of some of the world's best red wines, including that made from the Malbec grape. A city of just 110,000 people, it's a 2 hour flight/14 hour bus ride from Mendoza, making it quite accessible for a long weekend.

The province is much more tranquilo (relaxed) than Buenos Aires and many of the traditions that Argentina is known for, such as the daily siesta in which stores close down for a few hours in mid-afternoon so employees can take refuge from the heat and take a nap) are still present here.

Just outside of the city and further into the province is Mt. Aconcagua, North and South America's highest peak, at nearly 23,000 feet. The region is home to some of the best skiing in South America and lots of outdoor activities such as rafting, biking and hiking. This trip didn't afford me the opportunity to leave the city limits, so enjoy the random photos above from Mendoza City.

Vendimia 2011 - Saturday's Parade and an Encounter with the President

2011-03-07T13:00:00.005-03:00

On Saturday morning (much too early for my taste), a 2nd parade is held along the same route as the parade the night before. This one is much more family friendly and featured more floats and hundreds of gauchos and their horses. During this parade, people on the floats throw fruit and other regalitos (small gifts) to people in the audience, and some of the kids make contraptions like fishing poles so they can more easily get the goodies.

There were rumors spreading throughout the morning that President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner would be marching in the parade, but that turned out to be false. My friend Belen learned that she was on the reviewing stand next to the Park Hyatt Mendoza, so we took a stroll over there to see if we could catch a glimpse. Well, it turned out to be quite easy. Maybe because I'm a gringo, security let me right up to the front of the parade route, just 10 feet across from her, where I was able to get some good photos of her and the other politicians. She even looked over my way and waved a few times. I guess she doesn't hate Yanquis after all!

The parade lasted about two hours, after which we headed for some empanadas and beer. Belen and her kids were heading to the province later that day so we parted ways and I headed back to the hotel for a siesta before what was a long night of festivities, drinking and partying.

An Incredible Theater Performance at Vendimia in Mendoza, Argentina

2011-03-06T23:50:00.008-03:00

Words, photos and videos simply don't describe it, but the evening performance at this year's Vendimia celebration was out-of-this world. Every March, over 25,000 people pack an outdoor amphitheater to watch over 1,000 local performers dance and act in a two-hour show. While I can't say that I've been to Cirque de Soleil, Saturday night's performance at Vindimia certainly did not pale to any large-scale live performance I've ever seen.

After a slight mishap (I dropped one of the tickets into a chair in the lobby after it stuck to my iPhone and I had to return to the hotel after arriving at the amphitheater to retrieve it), we made our way back to the performance just as it was starting. Tickets were sold out upon arriving in Mendoza, and thankfully the hotel had connections and was able to secure a few seats at the last moment.

The production, which is a full year in the making, recruits thousands of local talent every year to spend twelve months rehearsing for just three days of performances. On Saturday, I spotted a lot of celebrities in attendance, including a news show host and a host of another TV program in Argentina. While the President of Argentina was in town (see a prior post about my run in with her), she flew back to Buenos Aires before the performance although, in years past, many heads of state have participated.

As I had mentioned above, words can not describe the performance so I did my best to take a very short video and some still shots using my digital camera, that captures as best as possible the size of this enormous production.

Click here to watch the video and click on the individual photos above to magnify the views of each!

Vendimia 2011 -Friday in Mendoza

2011-03-06T09:23:00.008-03:00

Every year in March, Mendoza, Argentina plays host to Vendimia, the national celebration of the harvesting of the grapes for wine. This week-long festival culminates the first weekend of March with parades, concerts and a spectacular outdoor production of 1,000 actors/dancers held in an amphitheater just outside of the city. I took a 14 hour overnight bus ride to get there, which wasn't so bad, since I went in "cama suite" class. The seats turn into full beds, hot meals are served, along with wine and there is an open bar/dvd/tv player. The time certainly flew by!

After arriving earlier in the day on Friday, March 4, the hotel I was staying in hosted a wine tasting with a traditional gaucho (cowboy) dance performance. They also gave us a chance to make our own wine by stomping on the grapes. At 10:00 PM. after already having a good buzz going from the wine tasting, I met up with my friend Belen as people started to gather around Plaza Independencia as the first of several parades begins. The highlights of this parade are over one dozen potential Queens to be chosen at a later date who are hoisted on floats from their various towns.

One of the more interesting floats was a full asado (BBQ), in which workers cooked the beef and passed it out to those in the audience - something I've never seen before in a parade...anywhere.

Buenos Aires Fashion Week 2011

2011-02-24T22:28:00.007-03:00

This week, Buenos Aires played host to BAFWeek 2011 - one of South America's most prestigious fashion events every year.

I was fortunate enough to land VIP tickets with backstage access so I was able to meet (and get photographs with) some of the world's top models. My friend Nadia and I got there late, so we missed the first show but the designer was not well known.

We spent the downtime wandering around and ran into Nicole Neumann, who is literally one of the world's most famous models and the most famous in Argentina. I'm with her in the fourth photo from the top. Lorena Ceriscioli , another top model, is with me in the sixth photo from the top.

After the show, we ran into a few more but - for the life of us - we couldn't remember the names, but with the flocks of people surrounding them, they were obviously well known.

DOTTO, South America's most prestigious modeling agency, was there scouting the event as well, but they didn't bother to ask me for my contact details or to sign on with them. Oh well, maybe next year!

A Visit to Asuncion, Paraguay

2011-02-20T16:37:00.005-03:00

A city of less than 600,000 people, Asuncion is the capital city of Paraguay, one of South America's poorest countries. Once one of the most wealthy and influential cities in Latin America as evidenced by its magnificent public buildings, it now has neighborhoods with thousands of families living in abject poverty.

For as poor of a country as it is, the people here have a great amount of pride and friendliness, and even when I was walking in "Chacarita" (the slums), several groups of kids came up to me and asked for me to take their picture, not wanting any coins in exchange.

The historical center is all within walking distance - from the modern Congreso Nacional (built with a $20 million gift from Taiwan, since Paraguay is one of the few countries that recognizes it to be separate from China) to the elaborate Presidential palace and Cabildo.

The most emotional part of my visit here was a stop at the Plaza de los Desaparecidos (Plaza of those who have disappeared). Here, there is a monument resembling a cube with parts of the body taken from a former statue sticking out. The statue was former dictator Alfredo Stroessner, who ruled the country mercilessly for several decades after World War II.

Even though Paraguayan law forbade statues of living citizens to be erected, Stroessner ignored the law and placed statues of himself throughout the country, similar to what Saddam Hussein did in Iraq. When Stroessner was overthrown, the people of the country ripped down and demolished all of his statues, saving one that was to be late reassembled in the shape of a cube, with his body parts protruding, to pay tribute to the tens of thousands of citizens who disappeared under his regime. Nunca mas!

With its sketchy modern day history aside, Asuncion is a charming city and a nice reprieve from chaotic Buenos Aires. The food is cheap and delicious, the nightlife much more reserved and the streets much safer than those in BA.

For more photos of Asuncion, click here.

A Summer Day in San Isidro

2011-01-15T20:40:00.003-03:00

For my first trip outside of Buenos Aires since arriving back in Argentina on January 2, I decided to take a train to San Isidro and spend the day biking in the city and along the river. Considered to be one of the wealthiest tows in Argentina, the town was booming with visitors today. The first stop was to the former home of General Pueyrredón. It was built in 1790 by Juan Martin de Pueyrredon and it's a national historic monument - in large part due to the fact that it was here where Pueyrredon and General San Martin first discussed independence from Spain.

After exploring the area around the main plaza, I biked to the river, which is lined by a ton of private (and a few public) beaches. After spending some time taking in the sun, a friend of mine from the US headed to a parilla (steakhouse) for some lunch before taking the train back.

After two stops on the train, we started to smell smoke.... the track had caught on fire right in front of us. If this happened in the US, the train would have been evacuated and the area cleared. Not here. Everyone got as close as they could to take in the action. The police and firefighters just stood and watched until the conductor hopped on the track to put the fire out. What a country!

For more pictures, click here.

Lunahuana

2010-12-18T13:48:00.007-03:00

For my last excursion in Peru before flying to the US for the Christmas holidays, I chose Lunahuana. Known for its outdoor activities, including whitewater rafting and off-roading, it's also home to Incahuasi, which houses some of Peru's most famous Inca ruins. The bus ride was only two hours, leaving early in the morning to allow as much time as possible to spend outside.

Before arriving in Lunahuana, we made a quick pit stop at a local beach, where we saw some sea lions relaxing nearby an old fishing village and then took a run through a local winery where we tasted both wine and pisco - enough to get a good buzz going!

Before lunch, we headed to the water for an 8-kilometer rafting experience down the Cañete river. We were told these were Class IV rapids, but they were not as dangerous as I anticipated them to be. Following lunch (where we were treated to delicious, locally caught freshwater crayfish), we headed to the local hills for some 4x4 off-roading through trails made especially for this.

Even though we had just entered into spring, the sun was very strong and I ended up getting a nice burn on my neck and forehead, but it was definitely worth it! For more photos, click here.

Back to Buenos Aires in two weeks!

2010-12-16T17:42:00.002-03:00

After a three-month stint in Lima, Peru and another month in Connecticut, I'm finally returning to Buenos Aires on January 2. I can't wait to re-immerse myself in the hot and sunny weather, the delicious wine from Mendoza and too-many-to-count amazing cultural opportunities Argentina has to offer!

Sandboarding in Huacachina, Peru

2010-10-24T11:35:00.006-03:00

This Friday, I snuck out of Lima for a long weekend and hopped on a bus about five hours southwest of Lima to Ica, a small city known (most unfortunately) for its 8.0 magnitude earthquake in 2007 that killed over 500 in the region. There is still noticeable damage throughout the city but the people seem determined to rebuild.

After some time relaxing at the pool (unlike in Lima, there's tons of sun here!) and touring two local wineries where the local alcoholic drink pisco is produced, I headed out to a town of just 115 residents called Huacachina. Huacachina is a small oasis in the middle of dozens of square miles of desert. Its biggest attraction are the handful of operators offering sand dune buggy and sand boarding excursions.

While I expected the sand boarding to be a bit extreme, I figured the trip there in the buggy would be gentle. Was I wrong. We headed down the straight parts at speeds of 70 miles an hour, before suddenly going up sand cliffs at a nearly 90 degree angle, then nearly flipping over, and turning back down for the trip back to the bottom. This was much more of an adrenalin rush than any roller coaster I've ever been on!

To see more pictures from this trip, click here.

Condor Cross

2010-10-14T20:51:00.003-03:00

For what was supposed to be a highlight of my parents and my excursion to the outskirts of Arequipa, we woke up early Sunday morning (5:30 to be exact) for a three-hour bus ride to Condor Cross, a part of Colca Canyon where some of the largest condors in the world (with wingspans of up to three meters) reside.

The view upon arriving there was spectacular. The depth and width of the canyon put Grand Canyon to shame. We were 3,800 meters above sea level and 1,200 meters above the river...standing just feet away from the drop. But, to our collective disappointment, we only saw a handful of condors and, the ones we did see, were too far away to really get a good look.

Following an hour-long fruitless wait for the condors, a small group of us went on a fairly rigorous hike along the canyon before arriving at the bus for our journey back into Arequipa and ultimately, our flight back to Lima.

For more photos, click here.

Colca Canyon and Chivay

2010-10-14T20:06:00.005-03:00

The 2nd day of our journey through Southern Peru brought us through the Colca Canyon; a four-hour bus ride from the city of Arequipa (see below). The ride crossed the mountains and volcanoes, until we reached 4,900 meters (16,000 feet) above sea level, which was twice as high as our first day in Arequipa. Fortunately, most of the time on the tour was spent sitting, but during those opportunities to get out and explore, it was truly a workout for our lungs.

The tour took us through the National Reserve, where we saw hawks, vultures, alpaca, llamas and vicunas. In the afternoon, we arrived in a small town called Chivay (about 4,000 people) and stayed overnight in a very rustic and small hotel (Pozo del Cielo) with a llama that resided on-site which could even open up the dining room door to allow him/her self into the building any time the door was unlocked. Pretty clever.

Click here to see all the photos from Colca Canyon.

A visit to Arequipa, Southern Peru

2010-10-14T19:26:00.003-03:00

Last weekend, my parents and I flew to southern Peru into a city named Arequipa - Peru's second largest city. Also known as the White City for two reasons - first, many of the buildings are made from white volcanic ash, but most of the original founders of the city were European, with lighter skin.

It's very much like Cusco, Peru with its traditional central plaza/meeting place, but surrounding Arequipa are three volcanoes; one inactive and the other two active. Unfortunately for us, the snow from the winter had already melted so the photo opportunities weren't the best.

The city is nearly 8,000 feet above sea level so it took a day or two for our lungs to get used to the reduced oxygen. You definitely feel it after walking uphill for a short period of time - becoming out of breath and needing to stop for a bit.

For more pictures of Arequipa, click here.

My New Digs in Lima

2010-10-01T12:47:00.003-03:00

After a month of staying in a penthouse studio apartment in the center of Miraflores, I decided it was time to move on for two reasons - first, the apartment was too small and second, I lived next door to a music studio so I was 'treated' to live performances throughout the day, often loud enough that forced me to bang on his door to lower the volume.

This new apartment is great. It's a stone's throw from the Pacific, in a much more residential and quiet area of the city (borders on Barranco and Miraflores) and is huge. It has two bedrooms, three baths, a small office, maid's living area, beautiful terrace and, most importantly, spectacular views of both the city and the ocean from the 14th floor.

My Return to Machu Picchu

2010-09-28T11:46:00.005-03:00

Several years ago, I first went to Machu Picchu, one of the most mystical and enchanting places in the world and one of the top ten man-made wonders of the world. In early September of 2010, I was fortunate to return. To borrow a direct quote from sacredsites.com:

The ruins of Machu Picchu, rediscovered in 1911 by Yale archaeologist Hiram Bingham, are one of the most beautiful and enigmatic ancient sites in the world. While the Inca people certainly used the Andean mountain top (9060 feet elevation), erecting many hundreds of stone structures from the early 1400's, legends and myths indicate that Machu Picchu (meaning 'Old Peak' in the Quechua language) was revered as a sacred place from a far earlier time. Whatever its origins, the Inca turned the site into a small (5 square miles) but extraordinary city. Invisible from below and completely self-contained, surrounded by agricultural terraces sufficient to feed the population, and watered by natural springs, Machu Picchu seems to have been utilized by the Inca as a secret ceremonial city. Two thousand feet above the rumbling Urubamba river, the cloud shrouded ruins have palaces, baths, temples, storage rooms and some 150 houses, all in a remarkable state of preservation. These structures, carved from the gray granite of the mountain top are wonders of both architectural and aesthetic genius. Many of the building blocks weigh 50 tons or more yet are so precisely sculpted and fitted together with such exactitude that the mortarless joints will not permit the insertion of even a thin knife blade. Little is known of the social or religious use of the site during Inca times. The skeletal remains of ten females to one male had led to the casual assumption that the site may have been a sanctuary for the training of priestesses and /or brides for the Inca nobility. However, subsequent osteological examination of the bones revealed an equal number of male bones, thereby indicating that Machu Picchu was not exclusively a temple or dwelling place of women.

Although pictures don't do this place justice, you can still click on the photos above to enlarge them for greater detail. To see more photos from my trip, click here.

My New Life in Lima, Peru

2010-09-03T20:56:00.004-03:00

After two crazy weeks of training for my new job in New York City, I arrived in Lima, Peru last night around 4:00 AM, after a long delay in Miami (thanks, American Airlines). For my first month here, I treated myself to a penthouse apartment on the 17th floor of a modern building in the Miraflores (think Beverly Hills in South America) neighborhood of Lima.

The apartment has spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean and has a private rooftop pool. While the apartment itself is small, it's ideal for one person. After work today, I strolled to the ocean where a private company was giving paragliding rides for a small sum of money. It looked safe enough until I was in the air over the ocean and too afraid to take photos - my arms were held tight around the instructor the entire time.

If today was any indicator, I'm going to have a blast in Peru! Tomorrow, I head for a return trip to Cuzco and Machu Picchu at 5:30 AM...can't wait. For more pictures, click here.

Three Countries in Three Weeks - What a Month!

2010-08-22T15:54:00.003-03:00

So, I arrive back in Buenos Aires the first week of August and get a call from a friend, Eva, at the destination management company I worked for in Buenos Aires back in 2007. She took a job at another agency and they were in desperate need of someone to handle their marketing. Later that week, I meet with her and the owner and I am offered the job, pending acceptance of the proposal I needed to draft.

That same week, I get an intriguing e-mail from one of my best friend's brother-in-law, asking me if I had any interest in heading up sales/marketing initiatives for his NY-based business software firm. The choice between the two offers was difficult, but the opportunities (both financial and professional) with the NY company were too much to pass up.

So, here I am back in Connecticut/NY for two weeks of training before temporarily relocating to Lima, Peru the first week of September and then returning to NY in mid-November for 1 1/2 months. 2011 should hopefully be a bit less chaotic, as I will be permanently based in Buenos Aires once again.

Having gone so long freelancing and not having had a permanent job, it was so coincidental to get two job offers in one week. When it rains, it pours! The next few weeks are going to be both exciting (training in a new job) and a bit crazy (traveling from Argentina to NY then to Peru).

(The photo above is the Plaza de Armas in Lima, Peru - a few blocks away from my apartment there.)

Photos from my trip to the US in July

2010-08-07T01:36:00.005-03:00

Enjoy the photos from Connecticut and New York. I had a great time this July!

More Celebrity Sightings in Buenos Aires!

2010-08-07T01:15:00.006-03:00

Today, I was invited to a ceremony hosted by S.E. Da. Leonor Arauco Lemaitre, Bolivia's Ambassador to Argentina. My Colombian friend Juan and I met up with my Argentine friend Cristina there, where she introduced us to Lemaitre (the woman with gray hair and glasses in the photo above holding the Bolivian flag) and we then all got invited by the Ambassador to attend a private reception this coming Sunday paying tribute to Bolivia's 185th year of independence.

Even better, at the event, we ran into Piero de Benedictis, one of Argentina's most famous folk rock singers and a legend here. He can be seen an above photo as well.

My TV Interview in the USA

2010-08-03T18:17:00.003-03:00

Well, I'm back in Argentina after a whirlwind month-long visit to Connecticut in July. While I was in the states, I sat down for a television interview with Kevin Gallagher, one of Connecticut's more well-known TV talk show hosts to discuss my life and experiences in Argentina (my 4th year now!).

Click here to watch the show (it's 30 minutes long, so grab some popcorn!).

We're In the Top 10 Again!

2010-07-17T17:24:00.002-03:00

Travel & Leisure's August issue has once again ranked Buenos Aires as one of the Top 10 Cities in the World, beating out traditional favorites such as Paris, Cape Town, Montreal, Chicago, New York City and a host of others. The selection process examined the cost of living, culture, selection of restaurants, high-quality hotels, safety, etc.

Which city was #1? Click here to find out. Vamos Buenos Aires!

A Day in Montevideo, Uruguay

2010-07-01T11:16:00.004-03:00

A friend from Canada and I flew to Montvideo, the capital of Uruguay, yesterday. It's just a 40 minute flight across the Rio de la Plata from Buenos Aires. After arriving, we took a public bus to the bus station where we booked a city tour (in a micro, since both of us were hungover and had no desire to do a walking tour).

For a city of just 1 million, Montevideo is pretty spread out. We covered most of the traditional tourist site - government buildings, presidential palace, etc. but also took some time to explore the coast. The Rio de la Plata is amongst the widest rivers in the world and, if you didn't know any better, you would have thought it was the ocean, since you can't see land on the other side. During our summers, the beaches here are mobbed with Uruguayans and Argentines.

After the tour, we had a chivito (a traditional Uruguayan sandwich complete with meat, ham, cheese, and a fried egg on top) before returning to Buenos Aires at night. Today, I'm off to Mexico City before arriving in Connecticut tomorrow night at 11!

For more photos of Montevideo, click here.

Los Girasoles de San Gara

2010-07-01T10:34:00.006-03:00

About two hours north of Buenos Aires and close to the historic town of San Antonio de Areco, sits Los Girasoles de San Gara, a traditional Argentine estancia. Last weekend through work, I helped arrange a day visit there for 20 French exchange students who are spending a semester studying and working in Buenos Aires. What an adventure!

Upon arriving in San Antonio, it started raining. After watching Germany win the futbol match, we had a quick walking tour of the town and hopped back in the bus for what should have been a quick drive to the estancia. That wasn't the case. The estancia is situated well off the main road and to get there, we had to take an unpaved road, which was nothing more than mud. Needless to say, the bus got stuck and we spent an hour waiting for help before we started to walk through the mud to get to the estancia. Halfway there, a 4x4 picked us up and brought us to the place.

Once there, things were great. We were treated to empanadas, followed by a traditional Argentina asado (BBQ) with wine. The lunch took place during the Argentina match so all of us were constantly updating our iPhones and Blackberries to get the latest scores about the match, since there was no TV there (but free Wi-Fi, go figure).

The drive home turned out to be just as adventurous as the journey there, and the bus got stuck in a ditch and almost fell on its side. We waited another hour for a truck to come and tow it out before arriving safely back in Buenos Aires two hours late.

For see all the photos, click here.

Private Reception with Lebanon's Ambassador to Argentina

2010-06-21T22:07:00.005-03:00

Tonight, I was invited to a private reception with Dr. Hicham Hamdan, Lebanon's Ambassador to Argentina, held at Museo Roca. Museo Roca is the home of former Argentine President Julio Roca and sits directly across from the Recoleta Cemetery. My friend Cristina, who knows one of the organizers of the event, was my date for the gala event.

After a few speeches from the organizers and by an Argentine photographer who created a photo album of her time living in Palestine, the Ambassador said a few words and then the festivities broke out. Traditional Lebanese/Arabic food and wine were brought out and the event was catered by Anush, the best Arabic restaurant in Buenos Aires. I met the owner, who is actually Lebanese, and he invited me to the place for a free dinner one night.

Following the food, we watched a folklore presentation with dancers from Lebanon followed by more wine (of course!). Since the venue was across from Recoleta Cemetery (which is home to a large # of abandoned cats), one of the gate crashers was a black cat in search of food. Only in Argentina can an abandoned cat work his way into a gala event unnoticed. Did you spot him in one of the photos above?

For all of the photos from tonight's event, click here.

Random Photos from Buenos Aires

2010-06-17T11:25:00.003-03:00

Two days ago, I gave a city tour to two visitors - one from Peru and one from the US. This time, I brought my own camera along to take some photos of the sights my clients always photograph. Click here to see all 38 - they were all taken in Retiro, Puerto Madero, Costana Sur and Recoleta.

World Cup Day 1 - Uruguay vs. France

2010-06-11T18:12:00.005-03:00

Argentineans take their soccer (futbol) very seriously and this World Cup is no different. The city of Buenos Aires has set up an outdoor viewing location for the matches throughout the mundial at Plaza San Martin and has a number of tents set up showing the history of the World Cup.

This afternoon, I went to watch a bit of the first match between Uruguay and France. It was pretty funny watching the game because I actually met some of the Uruguayan players in person when I was on vacation in Punta del Este, Uruguay last March!

Tomorrow is the first match featuring Argentina and the streets are already buzzing. The match starts at 11:00 so I will get to Plaza San Martin by 9:30 to get a good spot and take part in the festivities when (not if) they win against Nigeria.

Cuisine & Vins Expo 2010

2010-06-11T12:06:00.004-03:00

Last night, a friend alerted me of a gala event held at the spectacular Circulo Militar building directly across from Plaza San Martin. The building, known as Palacio Paz, was a former palace and home to a prominent Buenos Aires family. It was built by the Argentine diplomat José C. Paz, who lived in Paris for a number of years. The designs came from French architect Louis Sortais, and most of the building materials were imported from Europe. The result is that the looks as though it were taken right out of Paris and transported to Buenos Aires. All of the furnishings were left intact as well.

The event taking place there last night was a bicentennial celebration of food and wine in Argentina and it attracted the 'who's who' of Buenos Aires. Many of the prominent winemakers were there and I was able to sample some of the best wines from the best bodegas in Argentina - Alamos, Melipal, Pulenta, Las Moras and Familia Zuccardi - as well as hob nob with the elite of this country.

It was sponsored by Cuisine & Vins magazine and was by invite only. I took a chance, dressed up nicely and went there with the hopes I could get in with my press credentials. It worked! The security guard conferred with the event organizer who escorted me in and gave me VIP access to the building. All around were celebrities, business leaders and politicians. It was definitely a night to remember! Too see more photos of this event and the beautiful building it was held in, click here.

My Birthday in Colonia, Uruguay

2010-06-01T00:56:00.005-03:00

Since I have to leave Argentina every 90 days to keep my visa current, I figured an overnight trip to the quaint town of Colonia del Sacramento,

Uruguay

would be a good way to celebrate my birthday since I was approaching my 90 days.

Colonia is just a one-hour high speed boat ride from Buenos Aires, crossing the Rio de la Plata, which separates Argentina from Uruguay and is one of the widest river basins in the world. In fact, 20 minutes into the boat trip, you can’t see land and feel like you’re in the middle of the sea!

I treated myself and splurged for a room at the five-star Radisson hotel and, to my delight, was given an upgrade to a suite with a balcony overlooking the river and a birthday cake (a contact of mine in the travel industry with connections to many establishments in South America pulled a few strings).

After a delicious meal of filet mignon accompanied by a bottle of Malbec, I headed to the casino next door, where I won enough in a slot machine to almost cover the cost of my trip (excluding the hotel) so I decided to cash in and retire early Sunday night for a day of sightseeing today.

The entire town (the historic district) of Colonia can be seen in its entirety in less than two hours and is quite picturesque. All of the roads are cobblestone and many of the buildings date back to the 1600’s. The architecture is a combination of Portuguese (it used to be a colony of Portugal) and Spanish, and is quite remarkable. Thankfully, the weather held up (it was quite chilly though) so I was able to get some good photos.

Argentina's Bicentennial - Five Days of Non-Stop Partying!

2010-05-25T11:53:00.004-03:00

Last Thursday night kicked off Argentina's celebration of 200 years of independence from Spain and the Argentineans certainly know how to throw a party. Every night, there was a concert featuring world renowned musical artists (both rock and traditional Latin American music), parades every day down Avenida 9 de Julio, a symphony orchestra performance, exhibitions sponsored by each of the provinces in the country and much, much more.

The highlight of this five day party was yesterday when nearly 2,000,000 people gathered on Avenida 9 de Julio (the widest avenue in the world) to watch Argentina play Canada in a qualifying match for the World Cup. On the ground, it was impossible to grasp the size of the crowd unless you were watching TV coverage from helicopters above. But, my friend Juan from Colombia came up with a cunning plan:

We went to the PanAmericano Hotel (the only five-star hotel on 9 de Julio) and said we needed a room with a swimming pool for physical therapy for my back. They politely said that the hotel was full and that the swimming pool (on the 13th floor overlooking the city) was closed as it was being readied for a gala event that night. I was disappointed but politely thanked the front desk clerk. Well, Juan was determined to get a bird's eye view of the scene and - due to his persistence - the front desk clerk called over a bellman who escorted us to the terrace. WOW! We had the best view of the gathering anyone could possibly have. The first picture above is a testimonial to that. Make sure to click on it so you can zoom it in to full size to see just how many people were below us.

Another memorable moment was at the end of the final parade when a two-kilometer long (the longest in the world according to the Guinness Book of World Records) held by thousands of Argentines, marched along the avenue, extending three subway stations in length!

It's been a long four days (this is the fifth and final day of the national party) and tonight there will be fireworks to end this historical event. For more photos, click here and click here.

The Most Ornate Burger King in the World!

2010-05-25T11:44:00.005-03:00

Frommer's travel guide advises tourists to stop by the Burger King on Calle Florida not for the food or the clean free restrooms, but for the interior that has been converted over from a former mansion. My Colombian friend Juan and I headed straight up the stairs for lunch yesterday and, after passing through a very bland lobby area we looked up and.....wow! This was the most ornate fast food joint I have ever seen! Every room of this converted mansion had the original ceiling moldings intact and in perfect condition. The centerpiece was a beautiful cupula supported by marble columns. My pictures don't do the place justice, so you'll just have to go see for yourself!

Zoo Lujan - Lions, Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

2010-05-19T18:57:00.005-03:00

Most people visit the historical and quaint city of Lujan (about 70 kilometers west of Buenos Aires) for the majestic Basilica Nacional Nuestra Senora de Lujan, but I came for the zoo. Why travel two hours by bus to a zoo when the City of Buenos Aires has a great (albeit small) zoo just a few blocks from my flat? The pictures should make it obvious. This is the only zoo in the world that allows those brave enough to enter the animals cages under the supervision of a zookeeper.

The first visit inside a cage wasn't so bad. It was the home to a three-month old baby leopard. Even at that age, the teeth were pretty big and sharp so I was careful to follow the zookeeper's instructions and not touch his head. Well the baby leopard didn't prep me for what was next - entering a cage with not just one but FOUR adult tigers - all of whom were taking a traditional Argentine siesta. I was pretty hesitant but the zookeeper was very persistent (veni! veni!) that I follow him. He took my camera and took a succession of shots. The tiger I was petting was awake but quite tranquil (tranki, tranki!).

The next stop was to a cage with a rather large adult Bengal tiger. I had to enter through two separate secure entrances to ensure the tiger didn't try to leave with me. Well I started to chicken out after seeing the size of the animal (and the fact that it was quite awake and alert) but the zookeeper again demanded that I enter. He grabbed a bottle of milk and gave the tiger a bit. He then told me to do the same and - again - I said 'no thanks, can I please leave now,' but he would have none of it. So, I grabbed the bottle and began feeding him. At one point (as seen by the first photo above) he abruptly stopped drinking and turned toward me, putting me into a mild panic. The zookeeper quickly intervened and distracted him. At that point, I decided to leave while I still had all of my limbs.

The next animals (the camel and the elephants) were a breeze after my experience with Mr. Bengal. There are a lot of blogs of people with photos of them sitting on the tigers and lions (bears were off-limits today for some reason), but I could only gather enough courage to pet them and, even then, I was a bit scared. What's funny is that, on each cage, is a huge sign stating it is illegal to enter the cages. I guess they must have done that for liability, go figure!

After my excursion to the zoo, I needed a break so I headed to the historical center of Lujan where I enjoyed a much less stressful day exploring the beautiful cathedral and peaceful streets.

To see all of photos from today, click here.

Bicentenario de Argentina

2010-05-18T14:30:00.003-03:00

Between May 21-25, Argentina will spend four days celebrating its independence from Spain in 1810 in a spectacular bicentennial celebration. Work is already underway on Avenida 9 de Julio, where this famous avenue (the widest in the world) will shut down for traffic and host dozens of cultural performances, concerts and exhibits. Leaders of all of South America and around the world are on their way here to join in the celebration.

As part of the festivities, there will be a fair that represents each of the provinces, where food and drink native to that province will be available for sale. For those reading my blog in Argentina, here is a tentative schedule of events (all in the vicinity of 9 de Julio between Corrientes and Belgrano):

May 21 (Friday):

20:00 Rock concert featuring Fito Paez, Luis Alberto Spinetta and others.

May 22 (Saturday):

12:00 Military parade
15:00 Federal parade
20:00 Concert featuring traditional Latin American music

May 23 (Sunday):

12:00 Latin American parade
20:00 Tango and folk music concert

May 24 (Monday):

15:00 Antique car parade (strange for a bicentennial event, but hey this IS Argentina after all!)
16:00 Showing of the Argentina versus Canada soccer match on outdoor TVs at 9 de Julio
18:00 Concert featuring Fito Paez
19:00 The official reopening of Teatro Colon (not sure if this is open to the public or not)
20:00 Performance by the National Symphony
23:45 Fireworks and music at the Cabildo

May 25 (Tuesday) - Official Day of the Bicentennial

19:00 May Revolution parade featuring over 2,000 performers

20:00 Concert featuring Fito Paez

Stay tuned to this blog over the next week as I will be posting daily updates! For more information on the schedule, click here.

Irena

2010-05-10T17:37:00.003-03:00

I woke up early this morning with a phone call from Irena, a 76 year old friend I met through the church I attend here. I had lunch with her yesterday after church and she informed me that the doctors here diagnosed her with lung cancer. She already had part of her one lung removed nine years ago also due to lung cancer. At 9 pm last night, she made the decision to return to her country of Australia for the proper therapy/treatment.

Her call to me this morning was to inform me that she spent all night packing and that she flies out today at 2. There are only two flights weekly from Buenos Aires to Sydney and her doctor in Sydney insisted she catch today's - giving her no time to get her things in order here.

This is where I come in. After a chaotic morning getting her to the airport, I took over control of her apartment, including the resident poodle and bird. Fortunately, she left me a short list of phone #s of her close friends and I was able to get someone to temporarily 'adopt' the animals. Later, I had to talk to her portero (superintendent) to inform him I would be managing the apartment, paying her bills and weekly maid service, and handling all other tasks associated with the apartment until further notice.

She is not due to arrive in Sydney until tomorrow night at 6 (BA time) so everything is in limbo until I hear from her. What a day this has been. To cheer her up upon her arrival, we took a photo of her friends from the church fair extending their wishes for a speedy recovery.

Today I also realized how important friendships can be. Doug and Jaime made what could have been a much more stressful day much easier for me to handle. Thanks, guys.

I'll end this post with a quote I came across earlier:

"We shall draw from the heart of suffering itself the means of inspiration and survival."

-- Winston Churchill

36th Annual International Book Fair of Buenos Aires

2010-05-02T15:18:00.005-03:00

For the third year in a row, I went to Buenos Aires' annual International Book Fair last night, this time with my friend Doug, who is a soon-to-be author himself. This is the largest book fair in South America and pitches primarily to the Spanish-speaking market, although a handful of vendors were selling books in English.

The fair attracts a number of well-known international authors including Marcos Aguinis and Bernardo Stamateas (both pictured above), as well as John Katzenbach, a prominent US author of thriller novels.

There were literally hundreds of thousands of books on display, along with lectures taking place, book signings, and booths sponsored by several embassies including the US, Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina. Because 2010 is Argentina's bicentennial (on May 25), one theme of the fair focused on its history and throughout the exhibit hall were a number of military personnel in their traditional uniforms, posing for photos.

The US embassy passed out a nice mini-book that discusses (in Spanish) the 200 year relationship that Argentina has had with America. My only criticism of the embassy's booth was that they were also handing out free copies of a book entitled, "President Barack Obama in His Own Words," which was nothing more than taxpayer funded propaganda as far as I was concerned. Why on earth would the US government be spending money on this considering the dire straits of their economy right now?

Filling my role as Ambassador to Argentina

2010-04-24T19:47:00.005-03:00

Last year, I wrote a blog post announcing that my alma mater, the University of Connecticut, named me as their Ambassador to Argentina. Since that time, I have assisted several graduates and their families during their vacations here. A few months back, I also provided a 2008 graduate living in Mexico with assistance.

He was so happy with my help, he contacted UCONN and I was just mentioned in its quarterly newsletter, a publication that reaches tens of thousands of unversity alumni. You can read the blurb on page two here.

Reggaeton Night - buena onda!

2010-04-24T15:46:00.000-03:00

Last night, I went to a concert at Luna Park featuring four prominent Reggaeton artists including Makano, La Factoria and Eddy Lover. The venue (Luna Park) is quite small for concerts, probably with a capacity of only 5,000 but the concert was great. There were a lot of "villeros" (younger men and women from the poorer areas of the city who have a very distinct style of dress, way of talking, etc.) there, but they were all well behaved.

The performers played a number of songs that are on the radio here every day, such as Te Amo, Perdoname and Dejame Entrar en tu Corazon. Reggeaton is not as popular in Argentina as it is Colombia, the Dominican Republic or Puerto Rico, but the crowd went wild at the start of every song and seemed to know all the lyrics.

In a nutshell, Reggaeton is latin music that combines hip hop with rap (mostly in Spanish but with some English woven in). It became popular in the 1990's and its lyrics are often very erotic in nature, but not always.

My friend Jaime and I had seats without numbers (unassigned) and we ended up sitting behind our new friend Claudia, a 46 year old who thought she was 20, and her four friends. The nickname for middle-aged/older women who act/dress younger to appeal to younger men here is called a "pendevieja," which is a combination of two words - pendeja (which is slang for a young woman) and vieja (which means old). She turned out to be a lot of fun and we laughed a lot throughout the concert. Enjoy the video and the photos.

Don't cry for me, America

2010-04-21T20:24:00.003-03:00

The photo above and this PowerPoint presentation pretty much sums things up.

Moving into the Top Ten!

2010-04-19T19:56:00.002-03:00

Last year, AskMen.com rated Buenos Aires as the 13th best city in the world for men to live based on eight lifestyle qualities including culture, power & money, dating and the good life.

In this year's list, just released this week, Buenos Aires moved up to #8, beating out Berlin, Sao Paulo, Barcelona, Los Angeles, Paris, San Francisco and Sydney.

Some of their information was a little bit off, such as the "white beaches" they reference. BA is 400 kilometers from a real beach and Punta del Este, Uruguay is an hour flight. But, their overall analysis is pretty much head on. Next year they should do a better job fact checking before publishing their list.

On a separate note, which city was number one this year? New York City.

Click here to see why Buenos Aires is one of the top ten cities in the world for men in 2010!

A weekend in Rosario

2010-04-18T21:41:00.008-03:00

Last week, I got impulsive and decided to travel out to Rosario, in the province of Santa Fe, for the weekend with Jaime, a friend from Colombia. The bus ride took about four hours, since the city is 300 kilometers from BA.

Rosario is the 3rd largest city in Argentina and its "claim to fame" is that is where the Argentine flag was raised for the first time after Argentina's independence from Spain. The monument, aptly named the Monumento a la Bandera, is a huge 70 meter stone statue. For just two pesos, you can take an elevator to the top, giving visitors a spectacular view of the Parana river, which borders the city. Next to the monument is a beautiful propylea and, in between it, a man-made pond. Standing next to the monument was a police officer, who stood there doing nothing as a homeless man wandered through the pond collecting coins people throw into it for good luck while his 1-2 year old daughter sat just feet away from the water, unsupervised.....Que pais!

Later in the day on Saturday after exploring the primary tourist spots (including a monument dedicated to Che Guevara, since Rosario is his birthplace), we hopped aboard a boat for a two-hour cruise of the Rio Parana. We didn't see much wildlife (although the brochure indicated we would), but it was relaxing after walking around the city. On board, I met an 85+ year old man from California who was visiting Rosario with his girlfriend, who was from there.

After the sun sets, Parque de la Independencia puts on a pretty nice water show while playing classical music. Visitors can rent paddle boats to experience it up close (while avoiding the many bats right above you hunting mosquitoes and other insects). Later that night, we went to a parilla libre (free barbecue) where, for just 36 pesos - less than $10 US - you can indulge in a HUGE buffet with all types of steak, seafood, fresh pasta and desserts. I have been to a number of parilla libres in Buenos Aires, but this was, by far, the biggest I've seen. It probably sat upwards of 1,000 diners.

Today (Sunday), we went to the casino at the Pullman Hotel. Just randomly, I put five centavos into a machine near the front door and walked away with 65 pesos - enough to pay for my dinner last night and lunch today! Enjoy the photos from this weekend's excursion to Rosario and stay tuned for my next blog update after the Makano Reggaeton Night concert this Friday!

Nuestros Caballos

2010-04-11T23:22:00.003-03:00

Over the course of last week, I saw a number of billboards around the city advertising "Nuestros Caballos" (Our Horses) at La Rural, one of BA's largest exhibition halls. So, I googled it and there was very little information about it available online. I was intrigued, so today I went with two friends. The cost: 15 pesos (about $4.00).

Upon entering, the presence of horses was very noticeable as evidenced by the prominent odor of ammonia (a byproduct of horse urine). After very quickly passing through the area the horses were housed, we arrived at an antique and car auction of all things. Dozens of silver horse statues, as well as antique automobiles were being sold out at a live auction. While I wasn't quite in the mood to buy a $7,000 silver horse or a late model Ford, I did manage to get a few glasses of free champagne they were giving to bidders.

In the exhibition hall, there were several horse shows featuring young equestrians and gauchos (Argentine cowboys). I picked up a free copy of Polo Live, a prominent monthly magazine about the polo phenomenon here, which more than covered the cost of my admission into this event.

Avenida de Mayo

2010-04-10T20:53:00.006-03:00

Considered one of the most important avenues in Buenos Aires, Avenida de Mayo (May Avenue) is lined with neoclassic and French-inspired buildings from the late 1800's, constructed during Argentina's heyday. Running underneath the avenue is Line D of the subway - the oldest in South America.

I have walked this tree-lined avenue on many occasions, but always without my camera. Today, while giving a fellow CouchSurfer a mini-city tour, I decided to bring my camera along for this excursion. Upon arriving, we were greeted by a Slovenian/Argentinean gathering featuring live music and exhibits. I got a photo with a young Argentine man whose family was of Slovenian descent.

One of the buildings on Avenida de Mayo that is close to the Congress building is Palacio Barolo (see photo eight above), which was the tallest building in Argentina until the Kavanaugh building in Retiro took its place in the 1930's.

Avenida de Mayo is probably most famous (in photos) for the funeral procession for Eva Peron, when hundreds of thousands waited days to view her casket and pay their last respects. It is also famous for its spectacular La Prensa building, which (along with La Prensa newspaper itself) was seized by the state under the Peron regime and turned over to the unions.

Tierra Santa

2010-04-03T16:16:00.004-03:00

What a better way to spend Good Friday than with a trip to Tierra Santa. Tierra Santa is one of the most unusual theme parks I have been to (and that includes visits to a bizarre water park in Thailand, a mini amusement park in Amsterdam and a museum dedicated to the production of cocaine in Bolivia).

In a nutshell, Tierra Santa is a family-oriented park dedicated to celebrating religion. Buenos Aires (and most of South America) is overwhelmingly Catholic, but the park does an excellent job of introducing all other religions within the setting, including segments for the Jewish, Muslim, and Hindu religions.

The park is situated in Costanera Norte, just next to the domestic airport. So, while you watch live re-enactments of Jesus being crucified (see the photos above), huge jets are flying just 200 feet above you. Quite surreal. Visitors are also encouraged to take part in the scenes by helping carry the crosses to the place of the Crucifixion.

All of the park employees were wearing the clothing typical from the periods they are representing (with the exception of an employee here and there wearing Teva sandals and sporting a watch). Some of the exhibits were a bit hokey (such as a mechanical robot version of the Last Supper) but the re-enactment of the Crucifixion of Christ was actually quite moving and many in the audience were in tears as the acting was quite good.

All of the shows and exhibits are in Spanish so this is not a tourist-friendly excursion for visitors with no knowledge of the local language, but for only 30 pesos (under $8 US) it's worth spending an afternoon here.

Jardin Japones

2010-04-01T15:47:00.005-03:00

I decided to take advantage of both the long four-day holiday weekend and the fact that it was about 85 degrees today to visit the Jardin Japones (Japanese Gardens). Situated in the heart of Palermo, close to Bosques de Palermo, this is a very tranquil place to escape the chaos of the big city. It is run by the Fundacion Cultural Argentino Japonesa and is funded solely through user donations. Admission is only 8 pesos (just over $2.00 US) and well worth it. In addition to the gardens, there is a Japanese restaurant and gift store.

Four months in Lima

2010-03-26T23:46:00.003-03:00

Well, it's official. After giving it some serious thought, I have decided to relocate to Lima, Peru for four months at the end of the year. I will rent my apartment in Buenos Aires out to an Argentine friend (Leandro) and will find an apartment to rent in Lima. As long as I have a computer and high speed internet, I can pretty much work from anywhere in the world and Lima's time zone is actually closer to that of New York's!

I still have a lot of research to do in order to find the right neighborhood to live in, etc. but I'm pretty excited to spend nearly 1/2 a year experiencing a COMPLETELY different South American culture than that of Buenos Aires!

Cementario de la Chacarita

2010-03-24T22:39:00.003-03:00

When most tourists think of cemeteries in Buenos Aires, the only one that comes to mind is Recoleta Cemetery, home to Eva Peron's remains. But, those cemetery enthusiasts willing to venture outside of the traditional touristy barrios of Buenos Aires have a treat in store for them if they end up in Chacarita, a working-class neighborhood of the city.

Today, my friends Tom and Scott (visiting from the US) and I made the trek to Chacarita to explore this vast cemetery, home to 100,000 graves, 12,000 vaults and countless mausoleums. It is almost a city in and of itself, covering 95 blocks with actual street names for each street.

The cemetery's famous inhabitants include Carlos Gardel, Jorge Newbery and Juan Peron. Unfortunately, Peron's crypt was broken into a few decades ago and, according to local legend, the thieves stole his hands because his fingerprints supposedly led to vast riches in Swiss bank accounts.

It's quite an easy trip to Chacarita cemetery; just a block from the Federico Lacroze subway station (Line B). If you go, plan on spending hours exploring all of the nooks and crannies of this fascinating final resting place of many of Buenos Aires' elite.

The porteno sense of humor - Peter Capusotto

2010-03-22T21:09:00.002-03:00

Portenos have a very self deprecating sense of humor and, while they make fun of everyone else, they are also pretty good at making fun of themselves. There is one comedian in particular here who is very popular. He performs on the public TV station here. Peter Capusotto broaches on subjects that just a few years ago were taboo (such as discrimination against the Bolivians, sexism, etc.)

One of my favorites is a video where he pretends to be the Undersecretary of Education. He interviews a 'villero' (someone from a poor barrio or from the province) and a 'cheto' (a rich person) and points out the extreme differences in the lunfardo (slang) they use. In another favorite, he plays the role of a famous singer who has a stuttering habit.

I've included some of the funniest below. Even if you don't speak/understand Spanish, you will still get something out of them:

Peter Capusotto 1 - Ministerio de Educacion

Peter Capusotto 2 - Tilda

Peter Capusotto 3 - Micky Vainilla GPS

Mariposas en Recoleta!

2010-03-17T20:58:00.004-03:00

Serving in my official capacity as Ambassador to Argentina from the University of Connecticut, I was giving a fellow alumni a tour of Recoleta today when we stumbled into the Recoleta Cultural Center. Once inside, there was a temporary butterfly exhibit sponsored by a local zoo. It was incredible to enter an outdoor patio area that was screened in and be surrounded by hundreds of exotic butterflies!

Songs I'll remember

2010-03-15T12:34:00.002-03:00

If/when i return to the US (or wherever I decide to live next), there are two songs that will always remind me of Argentina. The first is a song called Musica Ligera by a group called Soda Estereo. Soda Estereo is a group that disbanded in 2007, right after I moved here and I always remember the advertisements on the radio for their last concert, playing Musica Ligera.

The second is called Te Amo by Makano, a Reggaeton artist. Argentines love the summer and many of the commercials shown on TV during summertime feature the beach and people enjoying themselves. This year, Coca Cola encouraged Argentines to submit their own videos singing Te Amo and they put together a compilation of them on their website. Click here to see it.

Photos and videos from Mendoza and Chile

2010-03-14T21:19:00.003-03:00

Click here to see all of the photos and videos from my latest 10-day excitement-filled excursion.

Bye Bye Santiago

2010-03-14T20:59:00.005-03:00

Earthquake aside, Santiago de Chile is really a charming city with some great people. Christopher, my CouchSurfing friend, couldn't have been a more hospitable host. I arrived at his apartment nearly two hours after I said I would because the bus from Mendoza was late. He wasn't at all annoyed. In fact, he gave me my own key to his apartment, which is something I would NEVER think of doing in Buenos Aires. His apartment was in a great location, and had a fitness center and a pool on the bottom level.

He regaled me with his story of making it through the first earthquake that hit back in February (it was stronger than the one that hit Haiti). He said for five minutes (at 3:30 am), the whole building rocked back and forth, knocking paintings off of the wall, etc. Before the first aftershock, they evacuated his building and he said people were literally in the lobby wearing virtually nothing. Many in his building fled for the countryside for an indefinite period of time in the fear that another tremor will come (it did).

The city of Santiago itself is very clean and well kept. The residents clearly have a pride of ownership and there are Chilean flags all over the city. The pictures above include my apartment I rented for a few days, as well as random shots from the city as I walked around exploring it. It's definitely a city I will return to when the opportunity arises.

Two more videos from the Vendimia performance

2010-03-14T14:36:00.002-03:00

Ok, now that I'm back safe and sound in earthquake-free Buenos Aires, I have time to upload two more of the videos from the spectacular dance performance at Vendimia in Mendoza last weekend. Enjoy!

A day in Viña del Mar

2010-03-13T09:32:00.005-03:00

After a fairly unsettling (pardon the pun) Thursday in Santiago, I headed to the Pacific coast. About two hours away from the capital city is charming Viña del Mar. During the summer months of December to February, the beaches here are packed with Chileans and foreigners alike and I can see why. The streets are extremely clean and safe, the parks and beaches are well kept and waves of the Pacific ocean beat those of the Atlantic any day. I had some delicious fried calamari in one of the ocean side restaurants before heading back to Santiago for what turned out to be a very calm last night, with no aftershocks reported!

Fuerza Chile!

2010-03-11T17:31:00.004-03:00

It's now 5:30 pm and the city of Santiago just experienced its 6th aftershock of the day. We were in Museo Bellas Artes when it hit. The floor shook for about 15 seconds and then it was over. The aftershocks have been getting less and less severe, so hopefully the worst is behind us.

Throughout the city there is a sense of preoccupation but the daily life continues. Many of the cars and buildings have "Fuerza Chile" written on them, which means, "Be Strong, Chile" more or less. I submitted an iReport on CNN about my personal experience and I received an email back from them wanting to interview me further. If I actually do a phone interview with them, I'll update my blog with the information.

Quick update

2010-03-11T12:50:00.005-03:00

They ended up evacuating my building and most of the buildings in the area, including all government buildings. I walked to the Plaza de Armas and it was packed with government workers. What is sad about the timing of this aftershock (which turned out to be pretty strong - 7.2 on the Richter scale) is that it coincided with the noon swearing-in ceremony of the new president. Instead of people staying home to watch it, they were stuck in the streets in the event of a building collapse. I doubt I'm going to sleep well tonight/tomorrow night.

Here's the story on CNN.

Update: I included two photos above that I took right after the first aftershock and right after the second aftershock. They are posted on CNN's iReport as well.

Aftershocks from the earthquake

2010-03-11T12:01:00.002-03:00

The night I arrived in Santiago, there were two after-shocks - one was a magnitude of 6 and the other a 4. The first came when I was in the first floor of the apartment of the person I'm couchsurfing with and the second came when we were having dinner. I didn't feel either.

Well, just ten minutes ago, in an apartment I'm renting on the 12th floor, we had two more after-shock within fifteen minutes of each other. One was a 7.2 and the other was a 6.9. While I was reading the news online, the glasses on the table started shaking and the furniture starting bouncing. I stood up and noticed the building moving as well. I quickly looked outside to see the building next to me shaking and all of the construction workers on top of the building across from me stopped working and went underneath a steel support beam.

The tremblings each only lasted about 2-3 minutes, but let me tell you, it was damn scary. When there are earthquakes or aftershocks, we were told to open the door to your apartment and stand underneath it, holding on to the door for support. The apartment I'm staying in is residential and empty this time of day, so only a handful of other tenants were out in the hall doing as we were supposed to.

In an hour, I'll be on a bus heading to the coast (Vina del Mar) so I doubt I will feel any more aftershocks while in motion. More to come.

Two Presidents at once

2010-03-10T20:17:00.005-03:00

As I was walking through Plaza de Armas in Santiago, I noticed a great deal of commotion outside of one of the government buildings. There was a lot of police presence and camera crews, so of course I was nosy and wanted to find out what was going on. Gradually, more and more people started showing up and finally, a chauffeur driven car pulled up and a few people quickly exited and went into the building. A few minutes later, a few more cars come in and some of them had "Colombia" on their windows.

It turns out, after speaking to someone next to me, there was a "cumbre" taking place. Well I knew the word cumbre as hilltop or peak, so I looked it up to be sure and it also means "summit." It's pretty easy to figure out that a hilltop and peak are also summits!

Anyway, the summit turned out to be a meeting between Chile's President-elect Sebastian Pinera (who is to be sworn in on March 11) and Colombia's President Alvaro Uribe. About 30 minutes after the car dropped President Uribe off, the two presidents came outside to address the press.

I had a front row seat right next to the press and took the photos above.

Through the Andes to Santiago de Chile

2010-03-09T22:18:00.002-03:00

At 10:30 am, I said my farewells to Mendoza and hopped on a nine-hour bus to Santiago de Chile. This is probably the prettiest bus ride I've been on. About two hours into the trip, we started climbing the mountains and the snow-capped Andes could be seen in the distance. The tallest peak we saw was Mt. Aconcagua, the highest mountain in all of North and South America.

After reaching the Chilean border, the trip became pretty scary, as the buses, trucks and cars must weave their way up and down thousands of feet of perilously narrow roads as we continued our approach to Santiago, the capital of Chile.

Along the way, as we got closer and closer to the capital, we saw many pedestrian bridges that had been knocked down by the earthquake. In fact, today's New York Times had a good story about the invisible damage that exists in Santiago, nearly two weeks after the earthquake.

The final performance of Vendimia

2010-03-09T21:11:00.005-03:00

On the last night, Belen bought us tickets with the best seats to the nighttime performance to celebrate Vendimia. Every year, hundreds of performers spend four months rehearsing for just three nights of shows and each year there is a different theme. This year it was women in Argentina.

The show started out on a rather ominous note, with the announcer telling the audience not to panic if there is an earthquake or tremor at the outdoor theater, a structure that can hold 25,000 people. He assured us that we would be safe and that if there was widespread panic, people would be separated with families. Thankfully there weren't any tremors.

The performance started off with a mini-concert by Bajofondo, an incredibly talented band that is known for its electronic tango. Following the concert, the organizers were thanked and the Queen was introduced before the big show.

Wow. I was blown away. I have never seen such an elaborate and ornate production in my life. More than 400 dancers and musicians shared the stage for an incredible and moving performance that focused on women in Argentina over the years. It incorporated gaucho dancing, tango, and modern dance. There was a funny moment when the announcer gave thanks for the fact that a woman was elected President of Argentina (going back to the theme of the event - women). Seventy-five percent of the audience booed after his comment.

The pictures simply don't do this performance justice (but you will get a better idea of you click on them to see them larger) so I also included a few must-see video clips (one here and 2 more in a separate post) to give my readers a better perspective on the scale of the show and the amount of time that had to have been invested into it. The show went off without a flaw and some of the scenes even gave me goosebumps as the audience gave a standing ovation for General San Martin (Argentina's national hero) after an actor portraying him marched up the mountainside.

Mendoza from above

2010-03-09T21:03:00.003-03:00

On our last day in Mendoza before heading to Chile, my friends and I took a visit to one of the city's tallest buildings where there is a rooftop restaurant. Unfortunately, it was cloudy so the mountains in the background aren't clear. We stayed for a glass of wine then headed to the last night of celebrations.

Bodegas, bodegas, bodegas

2010-03-08T17:35:00.005-03:00

You can't visit Mendoza and NOT make a trip to a bodega/winery for a wine tasting. Set in the foothills of the majestic Andes, there are dozens and dozens of bodegas to choose from. Today, we rented a car/driver and went to three in the Lujan de Cuyo region of Mendoza: Belasco de Baquedano, Septima and Familia Cecchin. The first two were mid-sized wine producers with modern equipment and the last was a small family-owned operation using old-fashioned equipment.

At each of the three bodegas, following a tour of the facilities and lessons on how they produce the wine, guests are treated to samples of 4-5 of their most popular sellers. Most of the wine produced here is exported to the US and Europe and very little of it stays in Argentina.

Tonight is the final concert of Vendimia and tomorrow I head to Chile!

Ricardo Fort and Virginia Gallardo - celebrity sighting

2010-03-07T18:26:00.005-03:00

Today was supposed to be a lazy Sunday after two days of intensive partying, so we decided to take a taxi out of town to a shopping center called Las Palmares outside of the capital and just spend a relaxing afternoon strolling around at our leisure. As we left a cafe, we saw a horde of people taking photos of, and asking for autographs, from a couple. As we got closer, we realized it was Ricardo Fort and his girlfriend, Virginia Gallardo.

Fort is one of the richest people in Argentina and is a leading socialite. He and his girlfriend are regularly featured on the covers of all of the Argentine gossip rags and People-like magazines here. He is known to flaunt his wealth and is regularly seen in his Rolls Royce and wearing $20,000 Rolexes.

Nobody ever expected Fort and Virginia Gallardo to be in Mendoza, so it caused quite a stir to say the least! Of course, I was able to get some photos with the two of them.

Vendimia - Day 2

2010-03-07T12:36:00.004-03:00

After a long night out at a nearby bar, we woke up early to watch the Saturday morning parade. This parade features the princesses chosen from the different towns in the province, but it is also geared more toward families. Many of the floats throw fruit (mostly grapes) to the audience, as well as melons, small bottles of wines, apples, and even choripan (a sandwich made with sausage).

The start of the parade, with the big grandstand, was right in front of the Park Hyatt, just a block from our hotel. So, we thought that would make a good location to see the action. And what action there was! Within minutes of the start of the parade, a group of hundreds of protesters (ranging from the Socialist party to those who felt the ceremony of selecting the Queens was sexist) came out in force. Starting on motorcycles and followed by hundreds of people chanting all sorts of things, the parade crashers marched directly into the other end of the parade route, causing chaos. Many in the audience booed and shouted, but the police did nothing to stop them. They finally disbanded about an hour later and the original parade went on as planned.

About three hours into it, we met up with Belen and her family to watch the remainder of the parade before taking a long siesta in anticipation of what turned out to be another long night, not returning to the hotel until 5:30 am, almost in time to watch the sun rise!

Making wine the old fashioned way

2010-03-07T12:21:00.003-03:00

Wineries throughout the city were on full display this weekend. At Hotel Aconcagua, near Plaza Independencia, Familiar Zuccardi - a large local producer of wines - provided guests with a dancing performance, wine tasting, and an opportunity for those brave (or foolish) enough to help them make wine like they did in the old days. The pictures speak for themselves.

Vendimia, here we come!

2010-03-07T12:14:00.002-03:00

After a 14-hour overnight bus ride from Buenos Aires, my two friends and I arrived in Mendoza, Argentina Friday morning just in time to partake in the festivities of Vendimia. Vendimia is a yearly celebration that takes place in Mendoza to welcome the harvest of grapes for the season. It is also the opportunity that the province elect a new "Queen" for the year. Each town nominates its own choice and the people at the festival select the winner.

After settling in at the hotel, we set off to explore the city, which is easily done in an hour-long walk. The city center is Plaza Independencia and it is surrounded by four smaller plazas at each corner - Plaza San Martin, Plaza Chile, Plaza Italia and Plaza Espana.

After a late lunch (that literally took two hours to finish because of the lack of service at the restaurant), we met up with my friend Belen, her sister and her sister's boyfriend to watch the first of a series of night and daytime parades.

Another Sunday on the bike

2010-02-28T17:55:00.003-03:00

Nothing new to report, just some photos I took biking in the ecological reserve and around my neighborhood today. The weather was ideal...about 80 degrees and sunny!

Earthquake in Santiago, Chile

2010-02-27T17:24:00.006-03:00

I was out VERY late last night and when I came home, I went right to bed without checking emails or the news. When I woke up, I had received several messages from friends here telling me that I probably should not go to Santiago de Chile as I originally planned to next week. Many of my friends here have friends or family in Chile and have told me it is difficult/impossible to get through to them. I am not scheduled to leave to Santiago (from Medoza) until March 9, so I will play it by ear and make sure the roads/infrastructure are safe for travel. The earthquake was so powerful that even buildings here in Buenos Aires (almost 1,000km away) shook.

The impact of the earthquake was devastating and my heart goes out to the families affected. While Chile and Argentina have not always had the best relationship, it was nice to read that Argentina's President has offered to give Chile whatever is needed to assist them in their recovery, as has virtually every other South American country and the United States.

Please click here to donate!

BAFWEEK 2010

2010-02-27T17:14:00.002-03:00

Last night, I went to BAFWEEK (Buenos Aires Fashion Week) at La Rural to check out the fall/winter line of new clothing (remember, the seasons here are opposite of those in the states and we are going into fall now) as well as to be seen and be seen. I didn't recognize most of the models and celebrities, so I just took photos of the ones everyone else was clamoring to photos of. At one point, a bunch of people were chasing this one kid and posing with him, so when I saw him later on by himself (away from the mobs), I asked him for a photo as well. I had no idea who he was until I showed the photo to a friend. Apparently, he is the star of one of Argentina's most popular novelas (soap opera).

Que dia!

2010-02-20T21:23:00.002-03:00

Upon entering my apartment in BA after having flown back here from New York, I noticed there was no electricity. I went downstairs and the portera (building superintendent) walked down to the basement where the main electrical breakers are and mine was off. She didn't know why, but she reset it and everything was fine....until yesterday.

Yesterday morning (Friday), my electricity went out three times in three hours, each time requiring me to go down to the basement with the portera, where she had to unlock the electrical closet and reset the breaker. Well, she finishes work at 7 pm so when the electricity went off at 8 PM, I realized I would be spending the night (80 degrees and 95% humidity) without air conditioning. It wasn't pleasant. I spent the early part of my night at a friend's, drinking wine and around 1 am, I headed to a boliche (club) to stay cool, because I knew it was air conditioned. Around 4 am, I stumbled home and tossed and turned for a good 30 minutes because the heat was so overwhelming. Around 4:30, I eventually fell asleep and got a solid 4 hours of rest before waking up in sweat.

This morning, I decided that something had to be done. The portera recommended I call an electrician named Cacho, who is the portero for a building across the street. I would see him every day and wave, but I never realized I would desperately need his services. Around noon, after resetting the breaker twice only to lose electricity shortly after, Cacho came up to my apartment. He examined my fuse box and told me the wiring throughout the apartment was new (less than three years old). We then went to the basement and he tested the wiring there and said that it was also newly updated. Just when we were both ready to throw up our hands without a solution, there was a huge bang in the elevator shaft. We rushed over to it and Cacho went back to the basement to see if my breaker caused the bang. It did.

Apparently, the electricians who rewired my apartment only did the job up to the door, leaving an old 30-40 year old wire still attached and delivering electricity into my apartment. Well tha wire was run down the elevator shaft and, over the past few months, wore thin and eventually became exposed. After Cacho turned the breaker on again in the basement, we could see sparks shooting out from the wire, providing us the solution to the problem. Since it is extremely hazardous to keep the old wire in place (especially in an elevator shaft), we mutually decided it would be best if he rewire it to conform with electrical code. So tonight, he taped up the exposed wire so at least I have electricity until Monday when he and I will make a trip to Easy (similar to Home Depot) to buy 40 meters of electrical cable and spend the rest of the day installing it.

With residents of Buenos Aires often getting a bad rap for their unwillingness to assist others, I was really, really pleased and grateful for the help I received today - from Maria (the portera), to Cacho the electrician, to a neighbor on the 8th floor who offered to lend me 20 pesos to buy a phone card (I only had US dollars at the time) and offered to cook for me since I didn't have electricity - the hospitality and willingness to help from my neighbors overwhelmed me.

While it was obviously a stressful day today and I am thrilled that I will go to bed in an air conditioned room tonight, I remain thankful for having the material things I have that many in this city do not.

Bye Bye Connecticut!

2010-02-16T16:55:00.003-03:00

Just hours before I am set to fly back to Buenos Aires, we are hit with another snowstorm. Time will tell if my flight will be delayed. If it is, that means I'll be stuck in Lima, Peru for anywhere from a few hours to a day.....

My next postings will probably be from my trip in March to Mendoza and to Santiago de Chile!

Happy (Chinese) New Year!

2010-02-15T18:24:00.004-03:00

Yesterday (Sunday, February 14), I headed to New York City to spend my last weekend in the US in the Big Apple. Before heading there, I had lunch with former coworkers and friends, Elizabeth and Samantha) at a diner we used to hang out at when we all worked together.

After heading into NYC, I realized it was the first day of the Chinese New Year, so of course I headed to Chinatown to partake in the festivities. I missed the fireworks display by an hour, but the streets were littered with tons of burned out firecrackers (see photo) and there were still plenty of people partying on Mulberry Street/Canal Street. I had dinner in a traditional Chinese restaurant before finding a bar in the East Village to hang out in for a few hours prior to catching an early AM train back to Connecticut.

Tomorrow I leave for the airport and will be back in BA on Wednesday afternoon, after a short layover in Lima, Peru, where warm weather (finally) awaits!

A Private Tour of the Casa Rosada

2010-01-31T23:41:00.003-03:00

Last Sunday, a few days before leaving for the US, I was giving a friend of mine from Brazil a tour of San Telmo. On the way back to catch the subte, we stopped briefly at the Casa Rosada so he could take a few photos. In case you haven't read my past postings, the Casa Rosada is Argentina's White House and is the building in which the President has her official office (the Presidential residence is actually located in Olivos - outside of Capital Federal).

Well, as we got closer to the Casa Rosada to get some photos of the exterior, the guard at the front accidentally mistook us for a group of VIPs who were getting a private tour of the interior of the building and we were shuffled inside. After passing through the metal detectors, we joined the small group and were escorted throughout the different public rooms. We were even allowed to stand in the balcony where Eva Peron often addressed hundreds of thousands of citizens and (more famously for those in the USA) where Madonna performed "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina."

In one of the photos above, I'm standing on that same balcony. Other photos above include the room where treaties are signed with foreign governments and the staircase leading up to the 2nd floor of the spectacular edifice.

I have no idea how we were able to join up with this private group, but it was certainly good luck that we did. I was told later that week that the Casa Rosada has been closed to the public for many months due to reconstruction/renovations in preparation for Argentina's bi-centennial on May 25, 2010 and, that even when parts of the building were open to the public, only photos of the courtyard were allowed. Go figure!

Soy Yanqui Loco

2010-01-31T21:54:00.003-03:00

When I left Buenos Aires last Tuesday, the temperature had reached 92 degrees F (about 33.5 C). Today, the temperature was 7 degrees F (-13 C) when my friend Billy asked me if I wanted to go ice skating with his wife, son and two other friends. I don't know what I was thinking, but I said yes. So, for the next half-hour, I managed to dig up thermal underwear, insulated gloves, a ski hat and a pair of 50+ year old ice skates that were rusty as could be, and headed to the pond where we had to first shovel the snow off the ice before we could skate. We built a fire to warm up to when our feet got cold, but for about two hours, I enjoyed myself in the arctic temperatures. Rosaly took a few photos while she kept the fire burning. Disfruta las fotos aca!