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Published: February 17th 2006
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A Snapshot of World Culture
This was the VERY first thing that we saw getting off of the bus in Tigre (about an hour out of Buenos Aires, but a world away!) Though I am now eating beef, I have sworn off Mc. Donalds....hey, I haven´t lost ALL my morals! Just call me "Wimpy", because I have successfully fully digested not one, but TWO hamburgers in the past week! As most of you know, I have not eaten beef or pork for about eight or nine years now (see blog titled, "Mandy Eats Meat, Twice!" for a more in depth look into my semi-veg life). After speaking with several people here about the processing of beef versus chicken, I have decided that though my taste buds long for a more feather-laden creature, eating too much of it here may just result in my babies having three arms and a gimpy leg....hormones. Ironically, this is the exact reason I stopped eating beef in the States (hormone regulations are a bit stricter for chickens than for cows back home). As this is the land flowing with milk and honey-barbecued- beef, I have taken the plunge to make our lives on the road easier and to give our future children the hope of a semi-normal appearance (they already have enough going against them as it is). The fastest and "lunchiest" meat is still ham, which after working for five years within sniffing distance of Farmer John´s slaughter house, I just cannot bring myself to
enjoy.
Griff and I had found ourselves gaining weight every time we sneezed- the food is just so delicious, and being in super smoggy Buenos Aires, does not in any way inspire one to take a jog...honestly, we would have done more harm than good. Griff swears that he now sweats cheese from his pores. "I can feel it oozing out of my skin!". Argentina is called the European country of South America, and we can see why. Not only is a lot of their art Italian, their accent resembles an Italian accent, and they do Italian food, better than the Italians! The pizza here is the best we have ever tasted, and their ice cream (much like Italian Gelato) is even better than the real thing in Italy. If you are looking for a place to get fat, get to Argentina.
Griff and I arrived in Puerto Madrin two days ago, and booked a SCUBA boat for today. Unfortunately, the water was a little choppy, so we are hoping for better conditions tomorrow. There is an underwater nature reserve and a sunken ship. I have never done a wreck dive, so I really am hoping for calm, clear waters
Tigre Infusion
In this town, built on canals, there is a brand new fun park smashed in amongst the rusting boats and aging ocean cabanas. so that I can reap the most from the experience. On Saturday, we are planning on a visit to a penguin colony about an hour and a half out of Puerto Madrin. It is the largest penguin colony outside of Antarctica, boasting about a half million birds in suits. If you have not seen March of the Penguins, you absolutely must (even my fifth graders would enjoy it!), having seen this film, makes us really anticipate the opportunity to enter their mystic world.
Upon our arrival here on the coast, we were taken aback by this small, relatively quiet little town. Everything was closed, except the local shops right on the beach. There is a super long dock, which expands out into the sea for what seems a million miles. What a wonderful change of pace from the big city we had just been in! Our second day here (yesterday) we awoke to a backpacker’s nightmare...in the bay, tied up to that miraculously long dock, were two shining white gigantic cruise ships. Out of the two maritime monsters, came billions and billions of Cruise-clothes-cladden foreigners, ready to hit the town and raise the prices of everything I had intent to
Friends Along the Way...
We skipped the tour bus and rented a car for two (but squished four tall pèople inside). This Dutch couple, AJ and Paula were friends that we met at our hostil. buy. Ok. ok....so maybe there weren’t BILLIONS of them, but there were enough of them flaunting their diamonds and dollar bills, that a sandwich that cost me 3 pesos the day before, now cost me 8. The jewelry venders told one of our backpacker friends to come back tomorrow, when the bracelet he was inquiring about would no longer be today’s price of 12 pesos, but the regular price of 4. Now I know that I have a large crowd of pro-cruise readers out there (primarily people with the last name of "Harvey"), and please do not take this personally. I have never been on a cruise and refuse to say that I never will, but please forgive me for being fairly anti-cruise for the next year! Alas, all good port-visits must come to an end, both ships pulled out of view last night, about the time Griff and I were eating our humble dinner back at the hostel (I won’t tell you what it was, but it involved mustard and salt packets that had been smuggled out of a local cafe earlier that day).
Speaking of the hostel... we were lucky this time, and the cheapest place was available
Mandy and Griff in a Welsh settler´s home
Can you belive that the first European settlers here in Puerto Madrin LIVED in these little nooks in the rocks? It is really windy here, and the rocks are literally right on the beach. and relatively clean and friendly. Besides a pretty strong sewage smell coming from the northeast corner of our room, and there being one boy’s and one girl’s bathroom for the entire second floor, we are enjoying our surroundings. (I know this sounds sarcastic, but for once, I am totally serious. We have stayed, and have a 100% chance of staying in much worse conditions in the near future.)
Griff is nagging me to log off now, and head outside. We have made a pact to start training for what’s in store for us much sooner than I would like to admit... the peaks of Patagonia.
January 12, 2006
It’s Sunday here in Argentina.
Griff and I went diving in some less- than- pleasant choppy water in some wet suits that were not a proper fit for two tall people. Our dive boat captain and guides were straight out of a novel... the type of men who belong to the sea. They passed around a cup of Mate (tea drank from a hollowed gourd through a straw...very traditional and common drink here) like it was a flask. As the waves crashed into and over our little boat, the captain was
Griff de BUCEO
SCUBA=BUCEO
The water looks clear and calm, but looks were definately deceiving that day! drenched in sea water, and seemed to enjoy the thrill of it all, laughing and daring the ocean to bring it on. The actual diving was not that great. Here is the story that I had wanted to write:
As we dove below the surface of the Argentine Atlantic, we were enveloped by the sunken skeleton of an old ship. As we swam through empty doorways we came face to face with gigantic fish. We knew we were trespassing onto territory where the souls of those drown on that ship wanted us nowhere near. As we reached the helm of the boat, I was caught off guard as my burly dive guide pointed out a large grey shark, sleeping in a dark corner of the ship. Was this sea monster guarding the resting place of someone passed on?
Yep, that’s what I would have LIKED to have written, but instead, I write this:
Went diving in choppy water. The visibility was not very good. The ship had been intentionally sunk for the purpose of diver recreation (no one died in the process). We went down deep, saw some fish that I’d seen lots before. The dive guides were the coolest part.
Sorry... I know it is disappointing.
BUT the next day’s excursion was not! Griff and I rented a car, and with two other backpackers, we went to Punto Tombo. I am going to wait to write more about this place until later, as I have a special assignment for my students on this topic, and don’t want to make it too easy on them!
As for the winner of the trivia question in my last blog, the winner is JAMILA CERVANTES! She wins a postcard from me, which I intend to send out today. Cograts Jami!!! Here was her answer:
I found out how they are!!!Diego Maradona must be one he was a famous soccer player right?well i asked a pro my dad i was right! Eva Duarte PERON must be one she is a famous politician.i know because I want to be one. POWER TO THE WOMAN. Tango is famous that’s what you said in your blog so I got a clue. it had to be something realeted.so it was Astor Piazzolla or Roberto Firpo. P.S. Some of you may have noticed the lapse in time between the date at the top of each blog antry, and the time the announcement arrives in your email box. No, you are not getting the notices late, it just takes me a while to get everything written and downloaded. Computers tend to be different every place I go, and many of them do not have the capacity to download photos,etc. Sorry!
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Hang Nguyen
non-member comment
WOW! I am amazed how the internet can keep us so close and how your writing has given me a visual sense (not to sound so Open Courty) of your surroundings. I gagged when you described the thick haze hovering over Buenos Aires. And I don't know why I imagined that sea captain with a peg leg. Must be Moby Dick. So glad to see you and Griff enjoying the beginning of a dream experience! (Seriously, Jamila rocks!) Love and care, Hang