Argentina and Uruguay!

So... it was the week before Thanksgiving, and I was thinking what a shame it was that Allie and I had a forced holiday coming up with no plans for those squandered vacation hours.  Then out of nowhere, Evita started playing in my head and I got this strange notion to go somewhere warm...  a couple of phone calls later and suddenly I'm booking tickets to Buenos Aires for that Sunday.

For better details than a few pictures can show, click here to read my travel journal for the trip.  I had an outstanding time, and was quite sorry to have to leave South America so soon.  If reading's not your thing...  check out the pictures below.  ;-)

Click on the images for larger pictures.

  Downtown Buenos Aires...  very early evening by Argentinean standards.

  Posing by the Obelisk downtown.

  Myself standing in front of a park statue.

  Allie and I in front of a nice little restaurant in the Recoletta district.  Great place to do some people-watching.

  A fountain-statue in Recoletta.

  The stairs and funky elevator of the Hotel Phoenix.

  This is the pedestrian mall...  a long street lined with shops running along downtown Buenos Aires.  Also a fine example of Argentinean plastic surgery.   *chuckles*

  Some statues near Plaza de Mayo, the historical central square of Buenos Aires.

  A rather large labor rally was going on at Plaza de Mayo.... quite a spectacle.

  Still at Plaza de Mayo...  that's the Casa de Rosa, of Evita fame, where the Peron's gave their speeches to cheering multitudes.

  A marker engraved with the historic date of the Argentinean Revolution of 1810.

  Stately buildings of the Congresso district.

  Kids feeding pigeons in Congresso's central square. 

  A rickety old subway train... the interiors were almost entirely made of wood.

  The dramatic opening of the tango show at El Querandi.

  Tango in Buenos Aires....  how remarkable...

  ...I know these pictures can do little to describe how moving this dance can be...

  ...the show was amazing...  at times seeming like a Broadway musical...

  ...and at times simply just tango.

  Walking down the riverside...  we spy a very odd suspension bridge.  Who designed this thing?

  An old-school sailing ship, complete with cannons on-board.  I wonder if it's still seaworthy...

  An old church in the Recoletta district.

  Same church, with that Jesus fellow on the wall.

  Allie kickin' it at the park.

  The cemetery at Recoletta, where the rich and famous are buried.

  Beautiful, but creepy.

  Sitting at a fashionable outdoor bar where all the beautiful people hang out.  Oh wait... that's everyone in Argentina.

  A shady tree by the water in Colonia, Uruguay.

  Another photo in Colonia.

  This is me on one of those scooters we rented for exploring Colonia...  it was *such* a great time.

  One of Colonia's many cobbled and broken streets.

  Rupin and Keith and Allie...  we were taking a break during one of our off-road scooter rides.

  Some locals on scooters....  it seemed like scooters were really the preferred mode of travel in this sleepy little beachfront town.

  Palm trees, horses, wild parrots, butterflies the size of saucers...

  Another live-action scootercam shot.... cruising along the coast.

  More scootercam.  WHEEEEEEE!!!!!

  This was our Thanksgiving sunset in Uruguay...  very memorable.

  A Colonia lamp lights the evening.

  Allie does his Fred Astaire impersonation.

  Another shot of the rich dusk of Colonia del Sacramento.

  The Doggie I wrote about in my journal.  Sweetest critter in the world.  You can read about her story here.

  The lively La Boca district of Buenos Aires.

  Street-side tango dancers in La Boca.

  Woman on stilts and the colorful buildings of La Boca.

  This is the suite where Keith, Rupin, Allie and myself spent a lot of our time...  chillin out and enjoying that slow South American pace.

  View from the penthouse suite.

  Group of Argentineans enjoying a nice dinner.

  Hard to tell in this picture, but that was one HOOGE dog.  Palermo district.

  La Diosa...  this discotheque was almost indescribable.  That was one jumpin' crowd.

  More tango dancers, these were in San Telmo at the famous Sunday flea market.

  Olay!!!

Probably more than any place I have traveled so far, the spirit of Argentina (and Colonia) have proven to be very, very difficult indeed to capture on film.  The journal I kept may give you a better idea, but really I'd say one must go sometime...  to live it is to believe.  Hope you liked what pictures I got anyhow...  drop by my message board leave me a message, or to chat about the trip!

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