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South America 2022/2023

października 2022 - stycznia 2023
A long awaited and anticipated return to Chile and Argentina, twelve years after our first visit. Czytaj więcej
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  • 100dni
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  • South America 2022/2023
    Dzień 29

    Settling Down

    14 listopada 2022, Argentyna ⋅ 🌙 18 °C

    We arrived in Cordoba late Saturday afternoon with a four day reservation at an Airbnb apartment close to Parque Sarmiento in the heart of the city. Since our arrival, we’ve been scouting out neighborhoods and contacting leasing agents in an attempt to find the ideal location to spend the next two months. We wanted to find a place close to the park so we can run off a few calories in the morning, close to some good fruit markets so we can eat something other than alfajores, and near several good vegan/vegetariian restaurants and markets so I won’t have to spend too much time in the kitchen.

    Despite our rudimentary Spanish, we were able to book a few appointments to see potential residences (thank you Google Translate) and decide which area of town would be best suited to our needs.
    Although none of the units we visited were perfect, we ended up leasing the very first one we contacted and, on Wednesday we’ll be moving into our new digs only a stone’s throw from Parque Sarmiento and close to everything else we’ll need until we leave in January.

    It’ll be really nice to unpack our things once and for all after having been somewhat nomadic over the last thirty days
    .
    Now we can get on with REALLY exploring this beautiful city and all it has to offer.     Czytaj więcej

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  • South America 2022/2023
    Dzień 37

    La Copa Mundial

    22 listopada 2022, Argentyna ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    A dozen or so years ago, I went to a jam-packed café in Montreal's Little Italy with my friend Pierre to watch the Azzurri compete in a World Cup match. I'll never forget the Italian fans' cries of joy with each goal, their groans with each missed shot and their screams at each call against the blue squad. The fervor of the Italian fans increased throughout the game as their team went on to win. The victory then triggered spontaneous parades of cars waving Italian flags all through the streets of Montreal. I remember commenting to Pierre that it would be great to be able to watch a match in one of the participating countries.

    Since we arrived in Argentina a month ago, the build-up to the World Cup has been palpable. The country is football mad and the Argentine team colours are everywhere. Popular products in supermarkets, like alfajores, have been re-packaged wearing blue and white. Number 10 football jerseys are on display in every clothing store window and, it seems, is a part of every Argentine's wardrobe.

    Argentina's first game at the 2022 World Cup was against Saudi Arabia and had a 7:00 AM local start time. Brenda and I planned to watch at least one match in a bar or cafe with the locals, but we couldn't imagine there would be anywhere to watch the first match at that early hour.

    As it turned out, we started to hear singing and chanting outside at 6:00. A loud roar rose from the streets to our ninth-floor apartment when the match started at 7:00. Needless to say, I didn't need to be watching the game to know when Lionel Messi scored Argentina’s first goal. The same happened with Argentina’s second, third and fourth goals, however, those were followed by groans and boos when each one was called back because of an offside infraction.

    Alas, there was to be no joy in Mudville today. The Saudis went on to score two unanswered goals in the second half and handed the Blue and White a huge upset loss.

    The Mighty Messi had struck out.     Czytaj więcej

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  • South America 2022/2023
    Dzień 54

    Fernet y Coca

    9 grudnia 2022, Argentyna ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C

    Cordoba is known as the Fernet y Coca capital of Argentina. Sandwich boards outside bars everywhere in this country offer happy hour specials on this cocktail which initially gained popularity amongst College students in this university town.

    Fernet is a potent 40% ABV Italian digestif brewed with twenty seven herbs roots and spices. Known in Italy as an Amaro, it is a bitter eau-de-vie in the tradition of Grappa, usually consumed as a digestif after dinner. In Argentina, however, it is served over ice and mixed with Coke.

    As we approach our second full month in Argentina, I finally broke down and ordered my first Fernet y Coca during this afternoon's football game.

    I had read that Fernet is an acquired taste, but nothing could have prepared me for the overwhelming medicinal characteristics of this brew. I had a sip of the dark brown liquer before adding the Coca-Cola to it and can only describe it as slightly more palatable than Buckley's cough syrup. But surprisingly, when I mixed in the Coke, it didn't get much better. The sugar in the Coke brought the taste experience closer to an intense, liquid Hall's eucalyptus cough drop.

    In the end, I'm not sure I care to acquire a taste for this particular Argentine delight. Their fine Malbec, Cervezas and sparklers will be all that will whet my whistle from now on.     Czytaj więcej

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  • South America 2022/2023
    Dzień 58

    The GOAT?

    13 grudnia 2022, Argentyna ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    The second one arrives in Argentina you are bombarded with the image or name of Leo Messi everywhere you look. It's on ads for Pepsi, Adidas, Budweiser and Lay's. The majority of the soccer jerseys that are a part of every Argentine's wardrobe sport the number 10 and the Messi name.

    Normally, I'm not a huge football fan, but I have always enjoyed watching the World Cup. As such, until this year, I couldn't even have told you which team Messi plays for on a regular basis (Paris St-Germain).

    Over the last few weeks, however, I've enjoyed watching Messi perform in the three Group-round games, the group of sixteen round, the quarter-finals and now the semi-finals. He is clearly the engine that drives this Argentine team and appears to be nothing but a class act, both on and off the field.

    Any time the hockey heroes I've watched over the years, Richard, Beliveau, Lafleur, Hull, Howe, Gretzky, Crosby, would touch the puck, the crowd would rise to their feet and cheer, knowing that something magical could happen at any moment.

    And such is the case with Leo Messi. He is magical. His handling of the ball would have one believe that he has a powerful leather magnet in his cleats that ensures he'll keep possession of the ball. The work he did on Argentina's third goal against Croatia in the semi-final game was a thing of beauty.

    Is he the greatest of all time? I don't know, but he's the greatest footballer I've ever had the pleasure of watching.     Czytaj więcej

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  • South America 2022/2023
    Dzień 63

    ¡Vamos, Vamos Argentina!

    18 grudnia 2022, Argentyna ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    The year was 1986. Canada made their first appearance at the World Cup. Diego Maradona led Argentina to a 3-2 victory over West Germany in the final. Leo Messi wasn’t even born yet!

    Prior to this year, Argentina had been to the World Cup final five times, winning in 1978 and 1986 and finishing second in 1930, 1990 and 2014.

    Given the rarity of Argentina’s World Cup appearances, how fortunate are we to be here to watch them win only their third World Cup trophy? I mean, our original plans had us in Argentina for just the first ten days of our three-month winter getaway. But, as it turned out, Chile, our planned destination, turned out to be too unattractive for our tastes causing us to change our plans and return to Argentina. On top of that, this is the first time the World Cup has been held in the Northern Hemisphere’s winter because Qatar is too hot in the summer. In other words, under normal circumstances, the tournament would have been played six months before we arrived here.

    All the stars aligned for us to be a part of this spectacle.

    After being handed a 2-1 upset loss in their first game against Saudi Arabia, things were not looking good for the Blue and White. However, Argentina came out on top in all their remaining matches, including the nail-biting semi-final and final, to bring home the cup.

    Brenda and I watched all but the first of Argentina’s games at the Mayo Café located just around the corner from our apartment. The locals were very welcoming to us foreigners and, at $800 ARS (about $3.35 CDN) for two pints of ice-cold craft beer, the price was right. At the end of each game, we made it a point to reserve our table for the next match.

    I will never forget the roller-coaster of emotion the final match produced. Leading 2-0 with ten minutes remaining to play, it looked like Argentina would coast to a victory. But then France was awarded a penalty kick and scored, narrowing the margin to 2-1. No problem, La Scaloneta is playing well, the lead isn’t in danger. But then Kylian Mbappe scored again one minute later to even the score! The crowd grew quiet. The game went into overtime and Leo Messi scored at the 109’ mark making it 3-2 Argentina and the entire city shook with the cheers. But at the 118’ mark, with only two minutes remaining in OT, France was awarded another penalty kick and Mbappe got the hat trick. The 1.5 million voices in Cordoba let out a collective groan knowing we were heading to the dreaded shoot out.

    Mbappe opened the shoot out with a goal that was immediately nullified by Messi’s score. The next two French shooters were stymied, the third one scored while all the next three Argentine sharpshooters hit their marks. On the fourth strike, the café, and the city, erupted in a cry of joy with hugs and high-fives all around.

    As I write this, it is three hours since the match finished and the noise outside our apartment is getting louder and louder. Singing, car horns honking, hoarse voices yelling, and the occasional firework explosion make up the cacophony that is Cordoba tonight. I suspect this will go on until at least 5:00 tomorrow morning when the bars close.

    Yep, it will definitely be an ear plug night tonight. But that’s OK. I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything.     Czytaj więcej

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  • South America 2022/2023
    Dzień 65

    Graduation

    20 grudnia 2022, Argentyna ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    As soon as we arrived in Cordoba, we started seeing pick-up trucks driving around the city and honking their horns with their beds filled with young men or women in full party mode. Because one of the passengers is always dressed in a ridiculous manner and covered in eggs and flour, we thought this is how Argentines celebrate a stag. But there are so many of these parties, we figured there's no way so many people are getting married.

    And we were right. Cordoba is a university town and the tradition is that when a student graduates, their friends dress them up, egg them and parade them around town with a sign stating their profession to be: "Yo soy abogado", "Yo soy contadora", etc...

    Fun!     Czytaj więcej

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  • South America 2022/2023
    Dzień 70

    Christmas In Argentina

    25 grudnia 2022, Argentyna ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Being a predominantly Catholic country, you would think that Christmas traditions in Argentina would resemble those in North America, but you couldn't be more mistaken.

    Christmas is a very laid-back affair here. The large shopping malls have Santa driven sleighs hanging from the rafters and the landmark Faro Bicentenario has been transformed into a 102 meter tall Christmas tree, but aside from that, it's business as usual.

    To even find a Christmas card for our annual exchange required some effort and input from the local Facebook expat group.

    There is none of the manic crowds scrambling store to store on December 23rd trying to find that last minute gift. The grocery and liquor stores have no queues of people with shopping carts brimming with food and booze impatiently waiting at the doors and cash registers. Boxing Day is not celebrated here and there is no "day-off-in-lieu-of" here. Staff will all be back on the job Monday morning. In fact, many businesses remain open on Christmas day.

    Christmas is primarily celebrated on the eve with families gathering for a late evening meal as they await the stroke of midnight to exchange gifts and cards that are usually handmade .

    There is no roast turkey at the Christmas meal here. Summer has just officially started and temperatures reach the high 30's in late December so running the oven for six hours to roast a turkey is out of the question. The traditional Christmas meal consists of Vitel Tone, thinly sliced veal topped with a rich sauce of tuna, mayonnaise, cream, egg yolks, white wine, anchovies and capers. It is chilled to let the flavor set and served covered in the creamy sauce. Also prevalent is Asado, either barbecued beef or pork served with a vinagery salsa of tomato, onion and red pepper.

    We managed to find vegetarian versions of the latter two dishes at Rincon Verde restaurant that we accompanied with oven roasted potatoes and vegetables, a fine Malbec and a sparkling wine from Chandon.

    Yeah, I'd do Christmas in Argentina again.     Czytaj więcej

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  • South America 2022/2023
    Dzień 74

    Tango Anyone?

    29 grudnia 2022, Argentyna ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    I should have known better.

    You simply can't believe everything you read on the internet.

    For sure, the bad experience we had in Salvador, Brazil six years ago played on my fears, but just because a few people write about the amount of crime there is in Buenos Aires, doesn't mean it's unsafe to visit.

    Because of my reluctance to come to Argentina's capital, until this week we had stayed in the smaller, "safer" cities of Mendoza and Córdoba. However, even Córdoba has it's bad areas where tourists are warned to avoid, but overall, we have felt nothing but safe and secure during our travel here. We have quite fallen for the Argentine people and culture (except for their highly carnivorous side) and are already talking about our next trip here.

    And so when Brenda offered to fly us to Buenos Aires for New Year's and my birthday, I was all in!

    Brenda booked us a nice little studio apartment in the upscale (and very safe) Palermo district, which is far enough from downtown to be away from the rat-race and frantic pace of a big city, yet close enough that we can easily get there on foot or on public transit.

    And what a spectacular city this is! The buildings in the center of town are stunningly beautiful with architecture highly influenced by the great cities of Europe. In fact, if you didn't know better, you'd often think you were in Paris, Rome or Barcelona.

    It was a treat to see the iconic Obelisca that was the celebration site for four million people after the National team won the World Cup. The Teatro Colón, BA's world class opera house, is awe-inspiring, both inside and out. We were astounded by the magnitude and opulence of El Ateneo, a converted opera house that National Geographic named "the most beautiful bookstore in the world".

    I'll write other posts that will focus on the latter two attractions.

    We've been here for two full days and have barely scratched the surface of all the things to see and do. We spent this morning exploring the "Hollywood" section of our Palermo neighborhood, discovering three vegan restaurants and eating the very best plant-based burger I've had in my life.

    In the end, our only regret is that we didn't come here sooner.     Czytaj więcej

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  • South America 2022/2023
    Dzień 75

    Teatro Colón

    30 grudnia 2022, Argentyna ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    High on the list of "must do" things in Buenos Aires is a visit to El Teatro Colón. Brenda and I don't normally go in for the big tourist attractions, but when we saw this spectacular building from the outside, we knew a visit was required. Initially, we were reluctant to part with the $7600 ARS admission fee, which is very high by Argentine standards, but in the end we coughed up the roughly $32.00 CDN to do the hour long guided tour. It was money well spent.

    Our guide, Juan, spoke perfect English and provided us with interesting and informative commentary throughout the visit. Construction on the project began in 1890 and opened with Verdi's Aida in 1908. During the course of construction, the original architect and his replacement died and a third architect had to be hired to complete the job. Materials for the structure were mostly imported from Europe (Italian and Portuguese marble) although a small portion was sourced in Argentina.

    The acoustics in the hall have been surveyed by experts and pronounced to be the best in the world for opera and second best for theater. The room seats just under 2500 with a possibility of 1000 standing room spots. We attempted to buy tickets to see The Nutcracker, but they sold out months ago. Unfortunately, there will be no more shows until the next season starts in March. Juan told us that the best seats in the house to see an opera cost only about $100 USD, a fraction of what it would cost in North America.

    The theater has six floors above ground and three below. All materials, props, costumes, including wigs, are fabricated on premises. When in full operation, more than 1500 people work there each day!

    On the second floor there is a large reception area known as La Sala Dorada (The Gold Hall) that was originally used exclusively by visiting dignitaries. It is now open to the general public during intermissions and can be rented out for private events.

    The horseshoe shaped auditorium is magnificent to see. The interior design features a rich scarlet and gold decor. and the cupola contains canvas painted in 1966 by the 20th-century artist Raúl Soldi during renovation work. The curtain over the stage is painted to resemble the decor in the boxes around the theater. Interestingly, when one looks at the boxes from the rear of the room, their decor appears almost flat, exactly like on the stage's curtain.

    Decades of constant use and neglected maintenance took a huge toll on the building and, in 2006, a full refurbishment was organized. In the end, what had been planned as an 18-month, $25-million renovation with 500 workers, scheduled for a May 2008 reopening, became a three-year $100-million extravaganza with 1,500 workers including 130 professional architects and engineers. The end result was clearly worth the expense and effort.

    You can be sure that on our next trip to Buenos Aires we'll have reserved our tickets for The Nutcracker well in advance.     Czytaj więcej

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  • South America 2022/2023
    Dzień 78

    Japanese Gardens

    2 stycznia 2023, Argentyna ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    We had wanted to visit the Botanical Garden on my birthday, but when we got there, we learned it is closed on Mondays. Fortunately, almost next store to it there is the Buenos Aires Japanese Garden. It was opened in 1967 to coincide with a visit by the emperor of Japan, Akihito, and his wife Michiko.

    As well as an astounding variety of beautifully sculpted plants, there is a large koi pond, and a cultural center where visitors can create their own origami figures (Brenda made a swan and I folded a koala bear). There was also a display of Kumitate, a much more intricate folded paper art form, that included dinosaurs, insects and vases. Of course, this being Argentina, hommage was paid to the National Soccer Team in the form of a blue and white Daruma, a traditional Japanese doll.

    It was a great way to start the day.     Czytaj więcej

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