Southeast Asia 2017

Connecting with Friends

~ admin

Wednesday, April 1, 2020

This is turning out to be a time when we are connecting with people we have not connected with for a long time.  A few days ago, I had a call from Francine who is a teacher friend of Carol Hoovers but who Jon and I have become friends with over the last several years.  They rent a place over in Clearwater for 3 months each year.  This year they were only 2 -3 miles from David and Rolande.  We had talked about getting them all together, but this virus has put a stop to that.  They are scheduled to take the car train to Virginia the end of April but do not know if that will happen. 

This morning Debbie Knott, a dancing couple from Bradenton, called to check in with us.  We took dance lessons many years ago until they got to good, but we have always seen each other at the dances.  It was good to hear how they are doing.  They have two grown sons living with them who need to go to work but Debbie and Dave stay home and get all their food, wine and beer delivered. 

I texted with Mary Ann, from Melrose and now the Cape, and she is expressing concern about the summer people who are coming to the Cape and concerned about not having the medical facilities or groceries for added people.  They will be meeting their son’s family for a birthday/Easter celebration at some park between their places. 

I also texted with our friend Linda Cummings who lives in Naples, FL.  She was a friend from Minnesota and we usually get together with her and her friend John when we go to Naples for the Trinity gathering (our Minnesota church).  This year we were only able to visit at the event.  They are staying home and only going out for groceries.

This evening I had a long conversation, over an hour, with Marcia, a friend we have recently repaired our relationship with.  It has been over a year and we are both glad to have it all behind us and looking forward to games, dances, dinners etc. as we use to do.  We had made up just as the coronavirus had us Sheltering in Place so we are not sure if we will be able to see each other in person but it certainly felt good to talk on the phone and catch up.  It is one of those friendships that it seems like no time has passed and we pick right up where we had been.  It kind of makes me and, I think her too, sad that it took us so long to repair the friendship. 

Thursday, April 3, 2020

Today started with Rebecca/Esme calling just as I was waking up.  Esme has a report she has to do, and she is stumped, and they wondered if we could help her get over the hump.  We helped and I think she got the report written.  I was also having my own crisis because I want to make a blanket for a friend of Rebecca (we are also friends with them). I wanted to talk with Rebecca to figure out what yarn I wanted to order before they run out.  I ordered the yarn from JoAnn’s for pickup, but it did not seem to go through.  I called the store and they said it might take a while before I got an e-mail back.  Still no e-mail at lunch so Jon helped me re-order it and I did get an email back, the first order had not gone through.

I did yoga, organ practice in the morning.  E-mailed with Diane, a friend from aquaciser’s, who had written an article for our newspaper about her trip back from Canada on March 15th.

Thursday, April 9, 2020

It has been a week since I have written.  I cannot remember all that has happened but the daily schedule of breakfast and lunch on the screen room, walk in the late afternoon before we make dinner has continued.  I have done yoga several times and now have a video done by the instructor Teri whose class I usually attend.  Jon tried it once but became dizzy and nauseous.  He says it was looking up at the TV and then down that caused it.  I have played the organ a couple of times and continued to work on scanning the pictures into the computer.  I am now also putting the scanned pictures on my zenfolio site so anyone of the family can see them.  I am working on the 1981 pictures and dividing them so Jeff and Rebecca can have separate photo books. 

We picked up the yarn I ordered from Joann Fabrics on Saturday in Brandon.  We left the yarn in the trunk for two days to insure we did not bring any Coronavirus into the house.  I started the blanket on Monday evening, and I have 7 rows done.

One of the nice things about this shelter in place is that we are connecting with people we don’t usually connect with.  People are texting or calling to just say how are you doing?  We are all sharing ways that we are coping such as how we are getting our groceries.  It helps all of us as we learn from each other. Marcia and Greg were picking up groceries at Walmart, so we have done it twice during this past week.  The challenging part is when you place the order you cannot get a time to pick it up for two days.  We place the order Monday morning at 7:30 AM and can pick it up on Wednesday at 6 – 7-PM.  Wednesday afternoon they send a note telling us what items we cannot get and what items needed to have substitutes.  This week we also discovered that Detwiler’s, our favorite grocery store for fruits, vegetables, seafood and meat has a drive thru service.  It is about a half hour drive, but a drive is a welcome diversion.  This was very slick.  We drove up, filled out the form for today, and within five minutes drove away with the food in our trunk.  It was quicker that going into the store and you are not tempted to buy other things you see in the store. 

This week we had a nice phone conversation with Aunt Judy Merrill, Doug, David, Jeff and Rebecca along with FaceTime with all of the grandkids.  We also had a nice phone call from Enrique, our friend from Spain.  He was sick with the fever and lost his sense of taste.  The doctor said he had the Coronavirus, but they did not test him.  They are all working and staying home in Spain.

Yesterday, I had a text conversation with Pam and Joel who have a place in Maine.  He retired in January so is spending his first winter here in SCC.  Not the best time to be adjusting to retirement.  They are working on projects around their house.  They just finished putting in a new floor.  We had planned to spend time with them as he is adjusting to retirement but that is not happening.

It is always amazing to me when I am thinking of someone and planning to reach out to them, and I get a call or text from them.  It seems to be happening frequently these days.  Yesterday I called Marilyn and she was going to call me.  Today I was planning to call Jackie when I got back from my walk and she texted me at the end of my walk.  It was the first time we have talked since the shutdown, March 15th.  We had texted once.  Her other house is in Ohio where her grandkids are.  We share our love for our grandkids and being torn between wanting to be with them and wanting to be here dancing and in warm weather in normal circumstances.  Today we talked about taking walks, safe ways to get groceries and when can we head north. She had friends that headed to Michigan on Tuesday.  They communicated with them along the way.  When they got to Georgia, they could get gas, but no restrooms were open, and I took it to be the case the rest of the trip.  They had food with them, and it was a 17-hour trip, so they went straight through.  They said when they reached Michigan the roads were deserted. They said it was really eerie. I am figuring it was the evening.

Yesterday I texted with Mrs. C., the Kindergarten teacher I volunteer for.  She is not allowed to do anything like packets for her students.  She said they have a template?  She is enjoying her time with her own kids and a slower life.  She sent me pictures of her kids doing the things they are doing.  She mentioned that she needs to keep the kids quiet “when her husband is on conference calls about the new player on our Team, Tom Brady.”  It turns out he works for the Buccaneers and Tom Brady has just left the Patriots to go to Tampa.  Mrs. C. had told me the last time we were together she was considering being a Stay at Home Mom next year but was not sure she would like it.  She seems to be liking it and I would say if she likes it without being able to take the kids places, she would definitely be fine. 

I have also talked with Carol and had another phone conversation with Marcia.  We are all looking forward to being able to do fun things with all our friends next fall.  Hope this thing is over by then and does not come back.

Our neighbor, MV is making masks that you can put a filter (dryer sheet, coffee filter or paper towel) in.  She made two for Jon and I and then she made two more for Marilyn.  I had a nice phone visit with MV and they do not know when they will go to their cabin in North Carolina.  They are bicycling in the mornings and staying home. (She has since made two more masks for Carol and Jay.)

Last night is the first time we have done anything with someone.   When Marilyn picked up the mask we walked, at least 6 feet apart, on the golf course and then sat on the screen room at least 9 feet apart.  It was nice and I really felt we were being safe. 

Today is Maundy Thursday and we will be attending the service from our house. I have our crackers and wine ready.  We have been having virtual services for a month now and they also put daily messages up.

 

Day 9 – Gijón

~ admin

We were up late carousing in Santiago de Compostella so we weren’t on the road until 9:30 or so. We made it to Gijón after only a few missteps – I was honked at only twice – and found our hotel in the old section of town. If we had any common sense at all we’d stay out by the Interstate and miss all the downtown traffic. But what fun would that be?

Speaking of Interstates, the Autovia system of four-lane highways here in Spain is excellent, just as in Portugal. The limit is mostly 120 km/hr (72 mph), the roads are great, if a little smaller and a little twistier than back home. Spain beats Portugal in one respect: tolls. I think we only paid a toll once (6 Euros). In Portugal there is a toll charged at every on-ramp, and big bucks each time too.

Today we drove through hills and small mountains. Lots of pasture land on hill sides for grazing cattle and I suppose sheep. They also, as in Portugal, grow a significant crop of wind turbines. The wind was calm today they were dead still – I hope the old fossil fuel plants were cranking to make up the difference. Or maybe there are solar farms elsewhere; they’d do fine today. We had another perfect day – bright sunshine, low humidity, temps in the low 70s, I’d guess. We were warned of rain and thunderstorms by one source, another said highs in the upper 80s. Neither came true. In Gijón there was a strong breeze coming off the ocean, which kept things chilly.

I planned today’s stop in Gijon with one objective in mind: to see the birthplace of Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos, the 18thcentury statesman, economist, philosopher, prolific author – a leading figure in the Spanish Age of Enlightenment. As I mentioned earlier, Jovellanos was the subject of Mom’s PhD dissertation, which was published in Oviedo, Spain (about 30 miles south of Gijón). The hotel I chose is only a five minutes’ walk to Jovellanos’ birthplace. I googled the route and was warned, much to my horror, that the museum would close at 3:00 – 45 minutes from now. We woofed down some cheese and crackers and headed out. In fact, it turns out that the museum closed at 2 PM but would reopen at 5 PM. As in much of Spain, things tend to shut down for the afternoon and stay open later than we’re used to.

We found next door to the home a small chapel, Capilla de Nuestra Señora de los Remedios (chapel of Our Lady of Remedies). The chapel was a 15thcentury waypoint and hospital for pilgrims on the northern route to Santiago de Compostela. It now holds the earthly remains of Jovellanos.

While we waited for the museum to open, we walked along Gijon’s waterfront promenade with great views of the harbor and the ocean and the city. We even stopped for a rest on the park grass. I may have dozed off for a few minutes while Judy typed on her iPhone. You’ll see the results of her ruminations soon. We then had time for only a quick ice cream bar before walking across the plaza to the museum. While sitting with our ice cream we noticed that the city, which until moments before was a ghost town, suddenly burst to life. Kids got out of school and adults were strolling the streets and sitting in sidewalk cafes having a glass of wine or coffee.

The museum is today mostly a very fine art museum with works from the 16thcentury to modern times. The Jovellanos portion is contained in two rooms and has a few personal items and a large portrait that was done in the 19thcentury. I tried to explain Mom’s book to the docents, but they knew little of Jovellanos; they were mostly focused on the art exhibits. I think Mom would be pleased to see the facility being used as an art gallery.

When we drove into town, I wondered if this was a silly wild goose chase. I knew virtually nothing of what we would find. I simply saw a reference to the museum and said, “That’s it.” Now that we’ve been here, I’m awfully glad we did. Being in the museum, and especially the chapel and standing next to his tomb, I felt a real connection to Mom and her scholarship.

Judy chatted with a lady in the museum, and I her husband, from Tampa. We had a great time talking about Florida and our experiences here in Spain. He used to own an ocean front property in Indian Rock.

Near the museum we found a large, tall sculpture made from apple cider bottles. It seems that sidra is a passion here in the Asturias region of Spain. It’s not like what we think of as cider; this is fermented and apparently packs a real kick. As soon as we’re done with our evening typing, we’re off to a nearby restaurant recommended by the museum docent. Full report to follow.

*** 10:30 ***

We went full monty with the Asturias grub tonight and we’re glad we did.

The big question mark was the sidra – what we would call hard cider although this stuff was more refined than what we get when the apple cider jug sits out too long. The docent warned us to just try a sip. We went for a full bottle. Half the fun is watching the waiter pour it holding the bottle as high up as he can reach into the glass held as far down as he can reach. See the picture.

We ordered the Fabada Asturiana for Judy. The waiter warned us: “big serving!” so we split it. Wise decision. It’s basically a bean stew with pork and two kinds of local sausage. Delicious. Then we tried out the local desert favorite: the burned rice with milk, which in deed did have a smoky flavor to it. We added a totally unneeded tarta – a crème Brule pie with apples on top. Thankfully, the Sidreria Tierra Astur is a 20-minute walk from the hotel so we at least made a dent in dinner calories.

Tomorrow we’re off to Bilbao and the Guggenheim Museum, designed by Frank Gehry. What else? Who knows; we’ll see.

Day 3 – Belem

~ admin

Today’s mission: explore Lisbon by Hop-On/Hop-Off bus and visit Belem, including the Tower of Belem and other points of interest in the area. We really didn’t have any plans beyond that; this was a “see what happens” kind of day.

Sorry to report, but the bus thing was a bust, more or less. First, we had trouble finding our pickup spot. It seems that Stop 6 near our Dom Pedro IV square had been deleted, even though it still shows on the company’s map. Turns out the Yellow bus company had prohibited our Red bus company from using that stop for reasons unknown to us. There is another Red bus company, this one run by Grey Line Tours. We’d picked ours at random from Internet listings. The travel promotion business, like most things on-line these days is a wild and wooly place. And the earphones that were supposed to provide turn-by-turn commentary didn’t work.

The bus ride itself did indeed take us around town but truth told, no stop made us leap from our seats and hop off. The architecture of the buildings was unremarkable: plain block buildings, nice enough and colorfully painted but still, not very inspiring. And the roads! And the traffic! And the traffic lights! Bump, bump, screech, wait and wait. But we made it to the Tower of Belem having “done” downtown Lisbon and environs.

Speaking of the plain architecture, did I mention the Portuguese dictator Antonio de Oliveira Salazar who was Prime Minister from 1932 until 1968?  His party, Estado Novo, continued in power until 1974 when it was overthrown in the Carnation Revolution. It seems that the prime minister was holed up in a government office building, surrounded by artillery and troops ready to roust him out – just like what happened in Chile to the Marxist prime minister Salvador Allende in 1973 when troops loyal to Pinochet did indeed bomb him to death in that country’s bloody coup. In Portugal the local flower sales ladies, so the story goes, placed carnations in the barrels of the guns while the prime minister escaped out the back door. Not a shot was fired.

Far be it for me to try to bring sense to Salazar. Wikipedia says he was against “ democracy, communism, socialism, anarchism and liberalism.” He didn’t like the Nazis and Mussolini but did support the fascist dictator, Franco, in Spain. He kept Portugal neutral during WWII but did provide certain raw materials to the Axis countries via Switzerland since he viewed the Nazis as a line of defense against Stalin and the communists. Salazar allowed the Allies to use Portugal for air operations and provided raw materials, just as he did to the Axis countries. Portugal was also a hotbed of spy operations, including Graham Green and Ian Fleming, who is said to have patterned James Bond after Dusko Popov and Casino Royale after the Estoril Casino, which we drove past yesterday. Both Greene and Fleming operated in Portugal during the war.

How did I get off on this tangent? Ah yes, the architecture. It seems Salazar was a far-right conservative (but don’t call him a fascist). He did bring a level of economic stability to Portugal. His austere economic philosophy meant that, unlike King Manuel, the architecture was as I described: plan and almost Soviet in style. Salazar also established political stability but did so by using imprisonment and torture, suppression of human rights and control of the press.

Sorry for the diversion. The bus got us to Belem, we climbed the tower, enjoyed nice views of the river Tagus, which connects Lisbon to the Atlantic Ocean. We enjoyed warm, breezy blue-sky weather. The fortress was built by Manuel II (the spices-from-India guy back in the early 1500s, remember?). The tower’s mission was to defend Lisbon from sea attack. That didn’t work out as planned. The fort was completed in 1519, King Manuel II died in 1521 and the Duke of Alba from Spain launched an attack that lasted for only a few hours before the Portuguese defenders surrendered. The Spanish promptly turned it into a prison. Oh well.

Belem was also the point of departure for the Portuguese explorers, including Vasco de Gama. Later, it was the seaport used by the spice fleets that sailed annually to India and Asia. Usually some, but by no means all, of the fleet returned the following year, bringing the untold wealth that King Manuel used to build Lisbon and Portugal into the world power that it became, stealing the spice trade from the Muslims and the Venetian merchants.

Imagine if you will being the family and friends of sailors sailing off into the horizon, knowing full well that the chance of return for those loved ones was small. Belem is where they stood watching the departure.

We found nearby a more recent Monument to the Discoveries commemorating the Age of Discovery that led Bartolomeu Diaz to discover the Cape of Good Hope (named by Diaz “Cape of Storms” and renamed for marketing purposes later on) and de Gama to find the route to India. Actually, the lead figure is Prince Henry the Navigator who was responsible for development of the caravel, a technologically advanced sailing vessel that allowed Portugal to explore and exploit western Africa. The fourth son of King John I, Henry convinced his old man to let him and his brother capture the Moorish seaport of Ceuta on Morocco’s northern shore. Thirty-odd others from the Age of Discovery are memorialized in limestone (from Sintra) in a striking structure and sculptures. All this was done under Salazar’s regime.

We got back to the hotel four-ish, had a nice nap and I’m typing this before dinner – daughter Rebecca will be pleased!

Tomorrow it’s farewell Lisbon, hello Belmonte. We pick up the rental car first thing and hit the road on the next leg of this adventure. It occurred to us that the Catholic pilgrimage village of Fatima is on the road to Belmonte, so we will drop by for a visit. Total driving time is less than three hours, Google claims, so we should have plenty of time for sightseeing along the way.

Update: What Lisbon lacks, IMHO, in architecture it more than makes up for in the culinary arts. Tonight, starting from nothing, we found a plethora of interesting restaurants within 10 minutes walking distance from our hotel. We almost succumbed to a food market under a tent across the street where maybe 50 vendors had food to go for sale. Grilled sausage kiosks alternated with pastry shops. Instead we found a restaurant we’d picked out on Google. I had cod and Judy had pork filets. The cod came as a piece of cod, bones and all and was it ever good. If we were to stay another week I’d give up on the sightseeing and do nothing but eat. We picked up pastries at the food tent on our way home.

 

Day 8 – January 13, 2019 – Cape Horn and Wulaia Bay

~ admin

We rounded Cape Horn this morning at about 6 AM. Conditions: 86 MPH sustained winds, gusts to over 100 MPH and six-foot seas. Breakers crashing on the landing beach. Captain’s decision: no shore excursions this trip.

Were we disappointed? Not in the least. What we experienced was far more breathtaking than a zodiac boat ride, a limb up a hill and walk around the top, which isn’t even the top of Cape Horn. Cape Horn lies a couple of miles away. But we can’t brag to our friends that we set foot on the southernmost point in the world, excepting the continent of Antarctica. The runners up are Cape of Good Hope in South Africa and the southern tip of New Zealand, both of which we’ve visited on past trips.

To experience winds of that velocity and ferocity, thinking about the sailing ships that rounded the Cape starting in the 1500s, reaching a peak with the 19thcentury clipper ships and continuing until they opened the Panama Canal in 1916. Some 800 ships sank and 10,000 lives were lost trying to round the cape in that era. So I at least am happy it worked out the way it did. I suspect most everyone else is too. No one in his or her right mind would have wanted to board a zodiac in that weather, that’s for sure.

After circling the Cape for a while we retraced our steps to reach Wulaia Bay by 3:00 PM. We hiked up the hill for a nice view of the bay and our anchored ship – about a mile each way. The hike was fine and along the way our ship’s guide told us the historical stories of the bay: the story of the indigenous Yamana people and the interlocking story of the Yamanas and Captain Fitzroy and Charles Darwin.

The Yamana’s, a semi-nomadic subsistence group, populated Tierra del Fuego prior to the arrival of Europeans. They lived in small family units and traveled by canoe to harvest mostly sea products: sea lions, fish and shellfish and the occasional beached whale. When Darwin arrived he found the Yamanas living entirely naked despite the cold, rainy and even snowy weather conditions. When asked why they didn’t wear clothing they said that clothing would get wet and make them even colder. Our guide said some scientists speculate that the Yamanas had evolved (take note, Darwin) so as to adapt to the climate. The Yamanas also covered their bodies with sea lion or whale grease to provide insulation. For the Yamanas fishing was a family affair. The man stood in the bow of the canoe spearing the sea lions, the wife rowed the boat and the kids sat in the middle and tended the fire. If swimming was required the woman was the one to dive in. 

Carol from New Hampshire, wrote us the other day, “I’m worried about you. Please don’t go swimming in the ocean down there.” Well, Carol, you don’t have to worry about me. Judy, per local custom, will do the swimming when I drop my camera overboard. I’ll make sure she has a liberal coating of grease before she jumps in.

Darwin and FitzRoy, appalled by the “savage” habits of the Yamanas, reported what they saw to the British and world public. In so doing they gave the green light to a) conversion of Yamanas and other indigenous groups by churchmen and b) outright extermination of the local populous. Priests dressed Yamanas in fur clothing, thereby covering their nakedness. Sure enough, they got wet, cold and died of pneumonia. Others died from disease brought in by Europeans and others by outright murder and genocide. Only one Yamana lives today: an 80-something woman.

Captain Fitzroy captured four young native people and took them back to England to be educated and converted to British ways. Three died, but one, Jeremy Buttons, so named because FitzRoy purchased him from his parents for a pearl button, learned English and even met King William IV. He returned with Fitzroy and Darwin Within a few months he married, became re-assimilated into the Yamani culture. He retained some English language ability and when accused in aiding the murder of British missionaries he volunteered to stand trail and was acquitted.

So two important historical sites: Cape horn and Wulaia Bay: dramatic scenery and a chance to sail in the wake and walk in the footsteps of important historical figures.

Day 5 – January 10, 2019 – Buenos Aires

~ admin

Here we go again.

I, at least, think of the Cold War as being about the threat of nuclear war. But in many places the battle between communism and liberal democracy was played out in confrontations between a country’s military and its people. Coups that toppled elected governments resulted in the torture, death and “disappearance” of thousands. The CIA often operated covertly, as in Chile and Argentina, in support of the anticomunists.

Every country in South America experienced at least one period of dictatorship and repression in the 1970s and 1980s. Argentina’s started with the coup of March 24, 1976. It was the ninth military coup since the founding of the nation in 1810; the pattern (similar to the pattern in Thailand and other countries) is for democracy to be allowed to exist until economic and social conditions deteriorate. Then the military steps in to make things “right”. Later democracy is sometimes allowed another chance but always under the watchful eye of the generals.

Today we heard the story of Martin. He was born on November 16, 1976, eight months after the coup. On December 1, 15 days after his birth, Martin’s mother was seized by the military. She had been active as a student in efforts to help the poor. Her husband, Martin’s father, his aunt and his grandparents had no idea where she was being held. Several days later, per a contingency plan agreed to beforehand by husband and wife, Martin’s father called the grandparents and told them to meet him at a particular street corner at a particular time. There he handed his infant son to the grandparents and aunt. The father went into hiding to avoid capture before returning to his parents’ and his son after two years. Every year on December 1 the family received written notice that should the son or other family members become active in left-wing politics, they would be suffer the same fate as the mother: “disappearance.” 

Thirty-four years after her disappearance the family received word from a forensic team that Martin’s mother’s remains had been found in a mass grave. She died from multiple gun shot wounds, including one to the head that killed her. She died on December 31, a month after her disappearance.

If Martin had not been born before his mother was seized he would have been born in a concentration camp. Five hundred children were born in this condition. Of those, 100 were returned to their families. The remaining 400 were given to members of the military junta and were raised by them so that they would not become radicalized. Beginning in 1977 and continuing to this day the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo march in protest, asking that their children be returned to them. Their signature garment is a headscarf made of diapers.

This evening we had a home hosted dinner with Angelina and her husband Frankie. This friendly English-speaking couple and their daughter fed us a salad, mashed potatoes and meatloaf (prepared by Frankie). She is a travel agent with her own business, arranging business trips and vacations for her clients. Frankie lost his job five years ago and now helps Angelina in her business. 

Our wide-ranging conversation included Argentinian politics and the state of the economy. Angelica and Frankie blame the Peronists for much of the economic problems in Argentina. Early on, the politicians decided to link the peso to the U.S. dollar. One peso = one dollar. This made no sense and after a while reality caused devaluation of the peso to be necessary. For one thing, because foreign goods became so cheap domestic producers couldn’t compete, resulting in high unemployment rates.

The banks were closed for a day and when they reopened the exchange rate was set at three pesos = one dollar. So someone who before had 1,000 dollars/pesos ended up with 333 pesos the next day. Over time the ratio got as high as 50 pesos to the dollar. Today we’re buying pesos for about 35:1.We have found merchants more than willing to accept dollars in lieu of pesos since the inflation rate runs as high as 50% per year. Tonight on the news the report was that December inflation ran at a 2.4%, an annualized rate of about 33%. Progress!

I asked our hosts if the current problems might be a holdover from the dictatorship that so upset the political and social fabric of Argentina. No, they responded emphatically. It’s corruption. Corruption is rampant and causes the distortions in the economy that result in the problems they face today. A politician was quoted as saying, “If we end corruption for just 24 months our problems would be solved!”

You’d never know that the economy is in the tank judging by what we’ve seen around downtown Buenos Aries. The shops seem to be doing good business, the streets, the widest 20 lanes wide, are packed and pedestrians, of which there are many, walk at a fast pace with a purposeful look on their faces. The Galleria Pacificas, a block down the street from our hotel, rivals anything we’ve seen in the States and was packed this afternoon (we did, surprise, surprise, helado for lunch). “Just like Italy,” said Sharon. But our hosts tell us that the unemployment rate outside of Buenos Aires is 30% or more.

Those were the highlights of today. Chronologically what we did was:

  • Took a city bus tour to see the major sites, including the Plaza de Mayo that we visited on foot yesterday. The pink building is in fact the Casa Rosada (Pink House). “I’ve visited the White House in the U.S. We need a color for our executive house,” said the then-president. Pink was chosen because the paint mixed with the blood of bulls would best resist the high humidity of the city. And yes, the balcony on the left is where Evita appeared and Madonna sang. (“Poor choice of an actress to play Evita,” grumbled Cynthia, one of our guides.)
  • We followed the Presidential Grenadiers to the nearby church where San Martin, the hero of Argentinian and South American independence is buried.
  • The bus tour also took us to the La Boca district, home of the La Boca football (soccer) team. It also has a touristy district with souvenir shops, bright colors and the rest. Our hosts later told us they hate that district because it is so inauthentic. Lots of tourists probably go home thinking they’ve seen the real Argentina.
  • A coffee and tea break “best croissants in Argentina”} where Martin gave us his talk.
  • The bus left us off at the Teatro Colon, the real opera house, not the one we went to yesterday. We purchased tickets for a tour later in the afternoon.
  • Walked down Florida street, a pedestrian only thoroughfare, to the aforementioned Galleria Pacificas for the previously confessed helado lunch.
  • Returned to the Teatro for our tour. I failed to mention that the only tickets available were for a Spanish language tour. We nodded thoughtfully as the guide prattled on and on for 50 minutes. But the theater is beautiful. It reminded Sharon of the Vienna opera house.
  • Back to the hotel to prepare for dinner with Angelica and Frankie. On the way I had a nice broken-Spanish/broken English chat with a kiosk vendor who sold us maps of Patagonia. He has a brother in Yonkers, NYC.

Tomorrow we’re on the bus for the airport. Destination: Ushuaia. ETA: 1:30 PM but we’ll see if that schedule holds. Forecast: 40 – 50 degrees F with rain. The real adventure begins!