One Way United

So after leaving Cordoba we made our way once more to Argentina’s capital. Due to many factors (most of them being severe mind overload) we didn’t get a whole lot out of this gigantic city the first time around. Determined to do better we got into town bright and early after a long bus ride and checked into our hostel. After a little rest we set out into the city and wandered around for a bit. Later that evening we had dinner with this woman named Fara (sp) who just happened to be from Seattle. We talked and laughed and bugged our waiter to death with our constant ordering of desert, and it was a good time. Really awesome steak by the way for less than $3 American.

The next day we made our way on the metro to a close barrio and ending up going to the city zoo. It was a good size zoo with a good variety of animals. Jordan’s favorites were the monkeys. Mine will always be the large jungle cats. This zoo had a good number of both, although I thought the monkey cages were a little on the small side.

Later that evening we managed to meet up with our contact here that we missed the first time. Jordan’s friend Dani who he met in Gautemala has a brother named Hugo who lives in Buenos Aires. Originally from El Salvador, he came to this city to study medicine and be a doctor one day. After a fun game of email and phone tag we were able to get ahold of him and go out for a couple of beers with him and his friend. They were really nice and very helpful in getting us a cab when the night was done and making sure the driver didn’t rip us off.

The next day we met Hugo again and went to La Boca district. This is a lively section of town with little cafes and artists on cobblestone streets and people dancing the tango for entertainment. We really wished we could have bought some souvenirs but we really didn’t want to carry them around or mail them home at the moment. Later that evening we were going to go see a professional tango show at this good restaurant. We’d made a reservation and everything, but when we got there the place was closed. This was mostly due to the insanely huge parade of people coming down the street. Turns out March 24 is a national holiday in Argentina, set aside as a day of remembering the start of the country’s democracy after one of its worst dictatorships ended just 30 years ago. The “Dirty War” was marked by thousandsof civilian kidnappings and murders which led to many children being left without parents and identities. And now for the first time ever the day was declared a holiday and the people set out to celebrate. And boy do they know how to celebrate! Mobs of people everywhere in bright costumes, waving flags, dancing to the beat of dozens of drums. The streets were a madhouse and yet it was all peaceful and joyful with people of all ages immersing themselves in the spirit. It was incredible to watch as I’d never seen anything quite like it.

The next day we’d planned on leaving and making our way to Uruguay. We checked out of our hostel and went to the bus station only to find that the next bus leaving to Montevideo, the country’s capital, was at 9:30…roughly eight hours away. So we called up Hugo and met him and another friend of his and wandered around the neighborhood where he lives. We got to see his apartment and watch the end of “When Harry Met Sally” to boot. After that we said our goodbyes and went back to the bus station one more time, quite effecient at finding our way around by subway now and left the city. We got into Montevideo at 5 in the morning and found the nearest hotel and crashed until about noon. Now were off exploring this city on quiet Sunday, taking in the sights and figuring out what to do next. As always hope things are good with all of you.

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