New Friends in Buenos Aires

Friday, Feb. 11 (Part II)

Andrés, the priest of the local Danish church, called in the early evening and made plans for us to meet tomorrow night. I then went out for a while this evening. At night, the city looks different. It is easier to see inside the entrance halls of buildings. Restaurants have a different crowd and a different look, too. I had thought I would eat, since I had only a sandwich at lunch. Instead, I bought 1/4 kg (1/2 lb.) of ice cream (coconut, banana, and dulce con leche con nuez). It was a little too sweet for my taste, but it was cool and refreshing.

Walking: 36,688 steps (33,781 aerobic steps) 1476 calories, 24.96 km (15 miles)

Saturday, Feb. 12

I am back at my neighborhood restaurant. This is my second time here, and the waiter (who probably liked my tip before) is treating me as a regular (or even better). He waved away a younger waiter who approached me, and he brought me a cloth napkin (as he did on my first visit, but which is not given to anyone else). I asked, "¿Que is muey bueno?" (What is very good?) He went to the window into the kitchen and talked with the cook. When he returned, he named something in Spanish that I didn´t comprehend. All I recognized was, "...con papas fritas." (...with fried potatoes.) Anyway, I said, "OK." What I got was a thick slab of roast beef with a thin sauce that had onions, tomatoes, and red pepper. It was delicious.

I get wonderful fried potatoes throughout my travels. I wonder why it is so hard to get good ones in the U.S.? Most places in the world, they are crispy and remain crispy as the meal progresses. In the U.S., they often arrive soft and get even mushier as time passes.

I walked to Recoleta this morning. It is the fancy, elegant, and expensive part of town. It took about 40 minutes to reach it. Other than shopping at designer shops, most of the things to do there are concentrated in the park. There is a wonderful basilica from 1732. It is white stucco, and each alcove is filled with an elaborate alter covered in gold leaf. There is a famous cemetery where Eva Peron, among others, is buried, but I didn´t try to find her tomb. (I don´t think she is worthy of the fame and worship she receives.) There is a design center with the best of home furnishings for sale. There is a handicrafts outdoor market. Etc. The main thing I did was tour the National Museum of Art. It is a great museum with the bottom floor filled with works by all the famous European painters and the top floor full of wonderful works mostly by Argentineans. It was too much to see at once. All the paintings and sculptures were great, however.

There is so much more to see and do in that area and further out. But I will return to Buenos Aires again next year. I think I will save them. Right now, my plans are to buy a ticket to leave for Uruguay on either Monday or Tuesday. I really need to think about my travel plans, however. I have set Friday, Mar. 4, as the date I plan to arrive in Rio. That is 3 1/2 weeks from now. I need to decide where I will be between now and then. My tentative planning indicates I will have about four extra days beyond the time I had planned to spend in specific locations.
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After lunch, I walked to a nearby bakery which has quality products. I bought two pieces, but I have only eaten one. It is two mounded sugar cookies with dulce con leche between them.

After napping, I have dressed and am waiting on Andrés and his partner to pick me up. He is the priest of the Danish church here in Buenos Aires. Lisa, the wife of the Danish consul in Calgary, established contact between us. Andrés´father and Lisa´s brother were best friends. He called me last night and made arrangements to pick me up tonight sometime between 8:30 and 9:00. I am not sure what the plans will be. I have put on my best clothes (khaki slacks and long-sleeve cotton plaid shirt), since I know Argentineans cane be particular about appearances. I am curious about what they will be wearing when they arrive! I probably will find I would have been fine in shorts and a polo shirt.
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When Andrés arrived, it was with 3 others. I really didn´t know what to expect even of him. Lisa had not said more than what I had written above. It became a nice evening of dining and visiting. The people:

Andrés: 40, slender, salt and pepper hair cut short, jeans and t-shirt, spoke English well, priest of local Danish church, grandparents immigrated from Denmark, spoke Danish as his first language at home, does not speak English with the typical Danish accent

Luis Alberto: 33, muscular from workouts, light brown short hair with highlights, calf-length pants with muscle shirt, spoke about as much English as I speak Spanish, owns his own hairdressing salon, originally from Bolivia

Silvio: 42, rounded (but not fat) body, short gray hair, Ralph Lauren shirt with dark slacks, spoke English okay (had to think to put sentences together), mechanical engineer working with machines like Catepillar makes, has worked and studied in Italy and the Caribbean

Miguel: 28-32?, short and very slender, short dark hair with baseball cap, tight white silk shirt with dark pants, spoke English well, produces drag shows at bars, originally from Bolivia, his partner died last May

Miguel is the one who was the most outgoing. His personality is just bursting from the seams. It would be impossible for him to sit quietly for more than a few minutes. He makes comments, he tells stories, he teases people, etc. All the rest of us joined in with questions and our own stores and comments, but Miguel kept the action going all night. Silvio, although quiet at times, has a sparkle of playfulness in his eyes and told occasional jokes. Luis Alberto liked to clarify and question things occasionally and would express his opinion in contrast to that of others. Andrés, quiet much of the time and speaking mainly to explain, translate, or answer a question, seemed to be the strong one of the group through whom everthing was accepted as truth or laughed at.

None of these guys are old friends. Luis Alberto and Miguel knew each other in Bolivia, but they didn´t become close friends until they were both here in Buenos Aires six years ago. Andrés met Luis Alberto (and Miguel, too, because of their friendship) 9 months ago. Miguel (and the rest of the group, therefore) met Silvio 3 months ago. They were a surprisingly well-knit group of friends considering the newness of their relationships.

We drove to one of the restaurants in the old warehouses at the port. There, we had parrilla, an all-you-can-eat feast of grilled meats along with salads, dessert, and wine. It was a huge place. We went early (around 9:00 p.m.), because they were worried that I would be starving, knowing that Americans do not eaat as late as Argentines. We got a table immediately, but there were waiting lines the rest of the night (even at 2:00 a.m. when we left the area).

There was one price at the restaurant that even included the wine and bottled water, so it was an incredible value at 27 pesos per person ($9 U.S.). I ate ribs, sausage, pork roast, and roast beef. They also had blood sausage and other cuts of meat. The salads were the typical potato salad, rice salad, mixed salad ingredients, etc. For dessert, I chose apple slices caramelized in suar and served with a dip of vanilla ice cream.

When we left the restaurant at midnight, we walked along the waterfront. We stopped at a sidewalk cafe at the Hilton Hotel and had coffee and continued visiting. Around 2:00 a.m., we returned to the car near the restaurant and they drove me to the hotel. There had been some talk of going out again tonight, but nothing firm was established. We all said goodnight and Miguel said he would call me today.

It was a change for me to be out so late. As we drove to the hotel, the whole neighborhood was still alive. The popular square here in San Telmo was full of people. Andrés said it would continue that way until at least 5:00 a.m. No wonder I have not seen many people out on Sundays in Argentina. They probably sleep most of the day if they stay up all night on Saturdays!

Walking: 22,757 steps (16,443 aerobic steps) 951 calories, 15.47 km (9 1/4 miles)