Buenos Aires....and so on

Still a day or two behind, but I'll catch you up from Buenos Aires. I took a night bus from Mendoza after staying a few days there, and much to my surprise, the long stinky bus ride that I anticipated was quite the contrary. While booking my seat from hostel I was staying at, I chose to go with a mid class seat....it's a bus, how fancy can it get. Much to my delight, for a few dollars more, I was cruising across the country in a Godfather type leather recliner style seat, secluded from the rest of the bus with about 10 other seats of that sort, kicking back watching a movie. Dinner and breakfast was served on the bus, and before I knew it I woke up from a 14 hour bus ride and was in Buenos Aires. Transportation, as I'm learning in South America, is nothing like what I'm used to in Asia and many other countries.

So Buenos Aires (first picture) is a big, fast paced, New York style city, electric if you will. I found it fascinating for a while, but like most big cities, I was tired of it after a few days and ready to see something a little more cultural and low key. You can only see so many cafes, shops, bars, and monuments until they all become the same, and the everyday grind of the city starts wearing on you. Funny enough, I'm sure some people could say the same of the mountains I guess (they're all the same etc...) depending on your upbringing. It's a city of steak and tango. I did watch a tango show done as a street performance. Wan't intrigued enough however to pay for an all night tango show. Anyway, I enjoyed some good food, and some nice sites while in the city. I have noticed a few trends since being here, as I will list. The food is not very spicy (all of Argentina and Uruguay really). You will find it difficult to find a place with spicy food or that even carries any kind of hot sauce or seasoning....sometimes pepper is hard to come by. Another being that these people are very affectionate towards each other. No lack of PDA here....love is in the air (public display of affection for the unknowing). Men and women greet each other and say goodbye by kissing on the cheek, and men will also kiss other men if they are close friends. YOU yield to vehicles, they do not yield to pedestrians! Most servers at restaurants, in fact all that I´ve encountered so far, are men. And last, but not least, EVERYBODY smokes.....yum!

After my stay in Buenos Aires, I took a ferry /bus combo that brought me to my current location in Punta Del Este, Uruguay (picture above). It's a beach resort area on the atlantic. It's much more laid back here than Buenos Aires, which is a nice break, and the weather is incredible. The town sits on a small peninsula that is only a couple of blocks wide, with breaking coast on both sides. I may have to give surfing another shot while I'm here. I met a pretty cool guy from Australia yesterday that may be able to show me the ropes on a surfboard. The area is a little resorty, but still manages to keep a laid back feeling to it. It´s kind of like Sherman Ave on a busy summer day, but with the coast on both sides. I am planing on being here for at least a couple of days. I´ve got a route planned out for running every day along the boardwalk, that includes a fitness area at the end of it, much like that of Coeur d´Alene Lake Drives, where a little crossfit action will be taking place....my desperate attempt to help gain some much needed weight back. I've got a hostel (view from window of in last picture) thats a block away from the beach....The end.

Take care at home....Keith