Day 1: Buenos Aires

Arrived in BA at 0920. Taxi over to the Sandanzas Cultural Hostel in San Telmo. JLITH and I have had such good experiences in hostels ... cheap, clean, lots of interesting people from around the world, and group activities. Talked with Fernando (not his real name, I'm awful with names ... however, he was the pasty guy with the shaggy light brown hair and the goatee), who made reservations for us to go to a tango dinner show with a brief lesson on Argentine tango. He also shared his ma-te tea with me. When he handed the cup to me, I went to stir it with the straw (which is actually metal with a filter at the base), and he nearly fainted at my indiscretion. Apparently only the pourer is allowed to stir the mate. It was warm, but bitter, and one sip was enough for me. Before we left, Fernando warned us to be ready to leave for the tango show at 1845.

JLITH and I walked down to Avenida Paseo Colon to catch the bus. Spent the first little bit trying to find the bus we wanted, missed a couple, then had to run to catch one. Turned out we needed a different bus, and the driver obligingly dropped us off at the right place. After learning that it's the custom to flag down the bus you want, we finally were headed to La Boca ... a colorful area of town, both figuratively and literally. The houses are covered with brightly painted corrugated metal sheets, and has a decidedly French Quarter feel. Tango is the scene, and there were artists selling tango drawings and paintings, dressed up dancers who posed with tourists for a minimal donation, and a number of those painted boards with head cutouts for the truly cheesy. Fun, but apparently not the best place for out-of-towners to be after dusk.

We next headed over to the train station to get to the delta region near Tigre. Once there, we took the boat bus out to Tres Bocas, where there are supposed to be a bunch of bridges passing over the multiple waterways. Unfortunately, the water is not blue, but a rather cafe au lait color. The neighborhood was very quaint, everyhouse being elevated over the land, with many having little picnic areas under the houses. Almost every place had a little dock, although there were not many boats or dinghies in evidence. We walked over one bridge. Searched for another, but didn't have time to go too far. Returned to the boat bus launch and comforted ourselves with flan icecream. Jetted back to the hostel, all the while worrying about being late.


Back at Sandanzas, we quickly showered off the stickiness of the day, and changed for dinner. We were ready at 1845, and went into the main lobby to wait for the ride service. Met Tony, a half Polish half Latino New Yorker wanna-be-player type who's travelling in Argentina to meet face to face girls he's met on-line. Or at least, that's the way his semi-geeky bragging came off.

At 1915, ride still hadn't come. Started chatting with Mr. Clean (not his real name either, but as apt nomiker, as he head was clean-shaven). Mr. Clean is originally from Ukraine, but is now living in Chicago. He's a travelling nurse, and has also lived in a number of US cities, including LA. He's worked in the SICU, but is now currently working in the ED. He will be travelling for three weeks total, and was leaving for Tucuman and Lake Titicaca. I'd be jealous if we weren't going to Iguazu.

Finally around 1945, the ride service came and drove us over to Tango Complejo. In American standard ballroom dances, the women always start with the left foot (generally moving backwards), and the men always start with the right foot (generally moving forwards). However, it's completely opposite for the Argentine tango. For the follows, the footwork is
1) L foot forward
2) R foot forward and brush to side
3) L foot to close and brush to back
4) R foot back
5) L foot back, cross in front of R foot (with weight change)
6) R foot back
7) L foot back, brush to side
8) R foot brush to close with L foot.

A little disorienting, but very fun. Everything is kept very squared off (at least for beginners). The teacher danced a bit with everyone, and did some turning and directions changes with me and JLITH. And, given the great lack of male leads, I did a bit of leading with JLITH.

Went in to dinner next. Food okay, not great, but not horrible. One of the tango dancer couples came out to pose for pictures with the dinner patrons. JLITH and I both posed in a "closed with right leg entwined" position with the male lead. I left my sneaker-ish hiking shoe on the floor, but the photograper got it in the picture anyway. Almost bought the picture just for the laugh of it, but decided a mental shot would do as well.

Tango show was wonderful. The band was spectacular, the singers wonderful, and the dancers skilled. Dancers were a bit off during the synchronized portions, but these were rather rare. Tango is such a sophisticated, passionate and dramatic dance ... and I love the fancy footwork and lean-turns.

Returned to the hostel around 2300, absolutely knackered, and we went to bed. A little pathetic, in a city where people party on until the wee hours of the morning, even on weekdays, but we just needed a day to adjust.