Meat, Wine, and Total Satisfaction

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There are “stray” dogs everywhere in Argentina. I'm not even sure if they're strays at all, or if their owners just let them wander around like cats do because they all look healthy and fairly well kept. Cuba also had lot's of stray dogs, but they were definitely strays, and there were a lot more of them. So it's different in Argentina. And there's a lot less of them, actually.

While waiting for the airport shuttle bus in Bariloche, I got approached by a stray dog. Not an unusual experience, and when you ignore them they usually go away right away. This dog trotted up, sniffed my backpack, and then.... lifted it's leg!!!

WHAT?!?!? Luckily I reacted quick, and moved my bag and startled the dog just enough that he didn't manage to pee on it at all. Then he just kind of looked casually at me as if to say “Oh yeah, sorry. I don't know what I was thinking. Well, see ya later!” and trotted off.

I wonder if it was a joke dog. Like a dog that's been trained to lift it's leg to scare people. Maybe there's an Argentinian hidden camera show for this dog. That dog would be worth millions!

Or maybe, like some people, he's just kind of a dumb jerk...

Arriving at the airport in Bariloche, I began the search for a power outlet. My phone was dying, and it had Cristian's address in Buenos Aires, and I'd opened a map so I'd have some idea where I was going. At this moment, while writing this, I'm not quite sure why I didn't pull out my notepad and pen... and just write it down like a normal person.

All in all, the Bariloche airport was a bit strange. There were lot's of flights coming and going, most of the LAN flights were hours late, but there were only two gates. And most people seemed to be hanging around outside security. After walking around the entire airport looking for a power outlet, and failing, I continued to not find one on the other side of security. There was a coke machine, but I didn't think it would be a good move to unplug it for my phone.

I gave in, and just left it off, and had a good lie down waiting for the plane. I'm a bit sleepy these days, and I've been stringing together some active days and long nights, so a bit of rest will be good for me, but it certainly won't happen until after I'm back in Edmonton. I was looking forward to one last night in Argentina, and I sure wasn't going to waste it.

During the flight, after finishing my boxed snack (thanks Aerolineas!) the sun set, and flying over Buenos Aires, I could see the lights of the Uruguayan towns across the Rio de La Plata. So I saw Uruguay, does that count? It was a bit sad thinking of what more could have been... if I had, you know, another few months to spare. I guess I'll just have to come back... probably more than once too.

We also flew over Buenos Aires, and that's quite a thrill. Cities look very cool from above with the lights on. We flew over the stadium where La Boca plays, and I was reminded that I may be one of the last tourists to see a game there for quite some time.

I hopped in a cab at the airport and showed the taxi driver the address I needed to go to. The cab driver was awesome. This was easily my favourite cab ride of my entire life. He didn't speak any English, or French, so we had to get by in Spanish. And it didn't bother him even a little bit that I could barely speak any Spanish. He was great about speaking clear and asking simple questions, and believe it or not, we had a forty minute chat on the way to Cristian's house. I told him all about my trip, about Canada, and we talked about Argentina, and it was just great.

Definitely one of the most rewarding moments of my trip which was not lacking at all in highlights to begin with. My Spanish has improved(although I'm still pretty much totally useless), and I'm inspired to learn more Spanish. I guess South America is kind of the ideal place to do that. Once again,if I had a few more months to spare...

At Cristian's building's door, I managed to lose the email that had his flat number on it. I think I must have deleted it accidentally, or something. I don't know. I thought I remembered, so I guessed, and got lucky.

Cristian greeted me and took me up to his flat, and we traded photos and stories over a couple of beers before heading over to one of his friends house for a house party! Talk about access! And as a bonus, it was a party of ex-pats from around the world, so there were a lot of English speaking people.

Actually I think Cristian might of been one of only three people there from Buenos Aires. There were a few people from the US, a few from the UK, one from Spain, a couple from Peru, and I can't even remember where else. It was a lot of fun, and there was lot's of good conversation.

And the apartment itself was spectacular. It had sixteen foot ceilings, and the view from the roof was awesome. One of the American guys moved in there with the owner, who was a local artist that had fixed the place up. It's a very quiet area, and there's not many people living around there despite all the big old apartments. Apparently the neighbourhood was abandoned during a yellow fever outbreak and never really recovered. So there are some old houses (almost mansions, really) like this one that just haven't been fixed up. Definitely not a part of town I would have known about otherwise.

We lasted until about 3 am before calling it a night.

The next day, we had a very specific agenda. Cristian was going to help me do everything that I needed to in Buenos Aires before I left. So we went to a couple of big grocery stores and got a couple of bottles of wine that he recommended. I packed them into my bag back at his place and we went to a nearby restaurant for my last asado.

This was Cristian's favourite place, and there's a reason for that. It's sort of totally awesome. And Maradona goes there sometimes, so you know it's good, right? RIGHT? He was on the menu and everything. I mean, there was a picture of him on the menu with his autograph and everything, so he's clearly fully endorsed it.

Unfortunately, because I had an afternoon flight, we had to cut the asado a bit shorter than we would have otherwise, and headed over to the bus station.

What a beautiful day. It was 25 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. I heard it snowed in Edmonton a few days ago, so I made sure to soak it in as much as I could while chatting with Cristian.

But the time came for me to say goodbye to Cristian, goodbye to Buenos Aires, and goodbye to South America, at least for the time being. I have a hard time believing I won't make it back there someday. And I have some unfinished business with all the places I didn't get to this trip, so the motivation is there.

Maybe I'll learn this time, and make my next trip last, like, four years or something. That MIGHT be enough time to see all of South America. Maybe... make it ten years. Can I retire now? That'd really work for me...

Despite the fact that I'm leaving so much of Argentina unseen and didn't even make it to Uruguay is too bad, but I can't really be disappointed. The time I did have, and the people I met, and the places I went have left me totally and completely satisfied. I'm returning home fully content.

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