The Cult of Wade

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The girls ditched out on the lesson after only a few minutes, so we witheld their certificates. We gave Danie hers first ...

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... but wouldn't give Rachel hers until she promised to no longer yell "I'm not washing my hands!" when entering a bathroom.

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My certificate - I wasn't really proud of completing this cheesy beginner's tango course. I was just happy that none of my partners broke any toes, or had gashes on their shins from my uncoordinated, flying feet.

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Remnants of an empanada that Ranjit described as "God-awful". For the starter, I went with a caprese salad - it's one of my faves, but tonight's version was flavourless. Sadly, it was still the best part of the meal.

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Steak Malena - this should've been called Fat Malena, because the cut of beef was absolute garbage, tough, and there was more fat than meat. I didn't know you could get such a bad cut of beef in Argentina! I thought the menu said it was to be served in a mushroom and bell pepper cream sauce, but there was no cream to be found. It was also served with some bland, dry potatoes. They also served some garlic toast which tasted ok, but was very hard. A poor excuse for an entree!

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Nasty - Ben also had the Steak Malena, and what you see on the plate is all the fat that he cut off. Even nastier - my plate had very little fat left on it, because they shut off the lights for the show just as I was digging into it, so I ended up eating tons of fat because I couldn't see what the heck I was eating. Dessert was no better - it was a dry chocolate brownie, served with melted vanilla ice cream. But at least there wasn't a pile of fat left on the plate after it was done!

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The singer was pretty cheesy, with both his mannerisms and how he delivered the lyrics. I'm not sure if that was just his style, or how tango music is supposed to be.

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Too funny - as soon as this lovely young lady stepped out onto the stage in this revealing dress, all the men pulled out their cameras and began snapping photos like crazy. For a few moments, the camera flashes lit up the room like fireworks! Of course, I only took a picture of this dancer just so I would have some context for explaining the scene to you all. Yup ... no other reason ... only to explain ...

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Alright, what gives? The dancers later came out and started dancing with the customers. How come the lone single guy at the table never got a dance? It's just as well ... had she danced with me, I would've been arrested for kidnapping when I tried to stuff her in my backpack and bring her back to Canada :(

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Ranjit, showing of his tango skills and his brand spankin' new Cult of Wade hat.

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Funny thing - Danie ditched out on the lesson because she wasn't enjoying it, but she looked like a total natural with this guy.

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Wade, giving a standing ovation and enjoying his wine, in the background. Poor Carole - I didn't realize how close she was when I took the photo, and probably blinded her with the flash.

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Darcie - looking even happier than when she was drinking mate at the mountain retreat: http://www.travelpod.com/travel-photo/pwong/7/1231469520/img_3837.jpg/tpod.html

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D'oh! The girl standing at the edge of the stage in the foreground, with her face turned away from the camera, is the one that all the guys were earlier trying to snap a photo of. I didn't get a good shot of her this try.

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D'oh again!!! That same girl is seen exiting the left side of the photo, once again, I missed out on a good shot. But it's OK - if I want to see her again, I'll just pull her out of my backpack ...

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One of THE Best photos of the trip! Darcie had quite a bit to drink this evening, and she mashed her face up against the outside of the bus window just before we returned to the hotel. It could just be an optical illusion with the camera flash, but I suspect that joining the Cult of Wade has given Darcie the supernatural ability to shoot flames out of her nose.