Argentina Una

Okay: I stuffed up.
Admittedly I couldn´t do anything about the plane being delayed by two and a half hours in Toronto, but I still got the day wrong.
The original plan was for me to set up a Forward Operating Base in Buenos Aires the day before Maho turned up. About four days beforehand I realised that I´d actually screwed up and bought a ticket for the day the day Maho arrived. So, I got there about five and a half hours _after_ Maho.

You know I wrote that Canada was cold?
Well, BA is really hot!
Someone should tell me these things. It´s especially hot when you´re trying to get into town as fast as possible worried that you´d abandoned your friend to robbery, rape and being sold into slavery.
But it all turned out alright. Ironically we´d got hostels a block and a half apart. We met up for dinner and agreed to meet at hers at 10am the next day.

My hostel sucked, so did hers so we hoofed it to CheLagarto a bit off the beaten track, via the world´s oldest prostitute who waved me off. Not that I was asking. Although I was tempting to turn to my gorgeous 21year friend and say ¨Corr! Now there´s a woman!"

We got a twin room at CheLagarto and it all looked pretty damned good. We did a walking tour of central BA, as suggested by Lonely Planet, and went to a Lagoon park thingo to wilt in the sun and look at birds.
Lunch for Maho was, quite accidently, beetroot salad. Not, beetroot WITH salad, but chopped up beetroot in a bowl. I was far more sensible in having jamon y queso tortes because I actually knew what they were. However, as later events were to transpire I shall swear off them for a year and a day. I swapped half a sanger for some beetroot.

Returned to the hostel for showers.
The evening we walked back to the market-fair that we encountered being set up on our way back from the lagoon park thingo. Lots of very cool jewellery at the market. Maho´s way of dealing with Spanish (ie smile and nod) meant that she ordered a roast beef sandwich for me as well.

Sunday the somethingth. 25th. That´s it.
We went to the Retiro to book dos boletos por Colon, and wandered back through town looking at neo-colonial and colonial archeticturetitecture.

"Get on dwon! You can be the fnukiest won in twon" lyrics by Mike Hughes

Barrio San Telmo is a trendy boho part of town with Sunday street markets to augment the permanent antique markets. Dorrengo square is famous for it´s tango demonstrations. We had showers and got on dwon. The street markets started several blocks before San Telmo proper, with merchandise (again, mostly jewellery) displayed on blankets on both sides of the street. There were street musicians a bungo from twelve pieces bands to single dudes with a guitar, and various other street performers.
The tango demo was awesome. I really, really like the whole tango aesthetic. It´s so powerful and sexy and glamourous and passionate!
Although the dancers were sweating like pigs. Someone should tell them that Buenos Aires is really hot.
In the evening we wandered down Avenida de Mayo and then Florida to get some modern architecthuretichure to contrast the colonial lined cobbled streets of San Telmo. We unexpectedly bumped into a whole string of performers and blanket displayed jewellery in this long pedestrian mall that is Florida.
I had to buy the CD from this three piece band. They were extremely moving musicians. If I had to sum up BA after two days, I simply play you this music.

Buenos Aires - Music of the Streets

Warning: Dancing businessmen

Goodbye Canada

Last night was my farewell bash. It was awesome. It was a pot-luck byo spectacular at the Slo's place with about 25 biologists and biochemists from Dalhousie Uni (which is where Slobro works). Everyone got stuck in despite it being a Wednesday and some of them meeting with a multimillionaire the next morning to ask for money because they are so professional etc etc

When the party had been whittled down to about eight I figured it was time for "Khe San".
I put it on and explained what was happening during the verses. Then I engaged Martin, one of the Czech guys, as my demonstration partner for the choruses.
We stood up. Martin said "But I don't know de wards."
I told him it didn't matter.
And it didn't.

Dear Slobro and SloSister-in-law,

Thank you very very much for putting me up.

I have bought you a present.
I have hidden it somewhere in your house.
It looks like this:


Inside are these:



Before I have ninja skillz, you will not find it for ages, so I have stashed it sideways to ensure that the "Sampling of the Delights of French Red Wine" will not spoil.

Adios, me hermano y me sister-in-lawo.


PS I have stolen one of your towels.

Things I learned in Canada

...that I actually would like a taste of Xena's honey first thing in the morning.

...and that my son is going to get one of the family names. (sorry about the lighting on this one)

I just want to stand at my front door yelling "GAYLORD!!" I guess I don't actually _need_ a son for that.

Halifax. And they say Canadians have no sense of humour

Alright: Stop!
Mattress Hammer time!*


Ms Fits on RYWHM recently posted about a friend of hers who witnessed an accident. The Canadians are such helpfully people in such instances.

And should a hot traffic cop also attends the accident...

* To ignore one girl hitting on you, MattressHammer, may be regarded as a misfortune; to ignore both looks like carelessness.

Yeeharr! Bluegrass Canada Style

But first: beer!
Ooh, and eggs and bacon with fries because they were $2.99.



Coloured glass light shades in a pub in Halifax, Canada that look the same as those upstairs in the Friend in Hand in Glebe, Australia.
Coincidence or destiny?



These guys are the Bluegrass Diamonds from New Brunswick. My photgraphy skillz have captured them performing in French.
The highlight of the afternoon was the headliner J P Cormier. He was an absolute demon. And his bass player was a wizard on the mandolin.
I like Bluegrass when no-one is singing.

Halifax Friendly Ice Monsters

Dear Harry,

Are you having fun yet.

Love Caroline
---
Dear Caroline,

No, it's boring as hell.

It's mostly washing up so far.

Love harry
----

It's pretty funny walking in the forest here, because the ground freezes. That means when it rains the water sits on the surface and then freezes, so you get ice covering all the ground - especially the paths. That didn't occur to me.
Makes for more adventurerous walking than a calm wander through the woods.

I spent about half of my walk today on the frozen lake. There are large air pockets trapped under the ice. When the ice expands, and moves with the wind(? airpressure changes?) these fantastic sounds that boom and knock ring out. This means that you _hear_ the lake when you get near.
Better yet: as you walk on it, and deform the ice, more sounds are generated. It sounds like the elctro-liquid-organic bass effects from leftfield - particularly 'Original' and 'Afro Melt.' There are some deep booms some with an echo. There are sort of whip sounds but slow and taps and knocks. It was disconcerting at first and then it was like a friendly monster following me. It would be a prime sample site for dub. Then I thought how cool it would be drunk or stoned. And ride mountain bikes on it. Hewgor would be totally up for that.

I found some awesome fractal patterns where warmer water has bored holes in the ice from below, then frozen. They look like creeks seen from the air. Or because they are in a flat plane with long staright cracks in the ice; and are exposed where the snow has blown off, they look like fossiled alien ganglia. See?