BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA

     Coming from Rio Janeiro  and being a long flight, I was extremely tired.   I located a hotel in the center of the city.  Unfortunately, I didn’t crash, I went out.  I was looking for some Tango music.  I didn’t find any but a nice place to hang out.  I had heard that Argentineans were very friendly, so far that is true.  

     Buenos Aires claims to have the widest boulevards in the world.  The one in front of the hotel has approximately 24 lanes.  It is hard to count when you are crossing the length of a football field.  Saigon and Paris have some wide nothing like this.  I got on the internet through a cyber station.  They have a lot of them here.  I learned  that my web site had over 21,000 hits on it for the first five days.   That is overwhelming.  Unfortunately, my laptop plasma screen and the CD burner broke.   To further complicate matters , the digital camera that Rebecca gave me for Christmas also broke.  It was the plasma screen also.  Needless to say , that is the reason for not getting anything to the web site.

     Today is a shopping day.  Leather, leather ,and more leather.  If I knew some sizes, some folks might get some.  Keep also in mind that my luggage is over weight  each time I get on a plane.  Bill, sorry they only had a Harley jacket that fits me. I am glad you have a bigger waist.

     I  thought about dropping the web site since I was having all the problems, but Rebecca brought me back to reality.  Jaqe’s class and other grammar and high schools  are following the trip off the net.  So I purchased another laptop.  The camera I am still looking for. The way I am going through money, I may have to get some contributions out of Bro. Roy in Pascagoula, or Bill and Paul in Gulfport, or maybe Phil, David in Jackson.  Maybe certain groups will contribute to keep me going so that I won’t return anytime soon.

     Tango heaven is located in Buenos Aires, and I found it at a place called Bar Sur.  It’s a small bar that keeps up the tradition of Tango music and dance.  I love to Tango and I went to heaven that night.  The grappa might have had something to do with it.  Last time I had grappa was in Italy when a friend  and I tried it.  Later she admitted that she got so crazy that she had thoughts of killing me. She might have  been justified.   Anyway, the music was superb  and the dancers were fantastic.  Ah, the lady in red came and had me dance the Tango.  I didn’t flip her like I did  Jackie Bell of the 930 Blues Club.  Nora who is one of the owners, belted out some beautiful music. If you ever go to Bar Sur, tell them Chuck sent you.  You will have a good time.

     Tango, Cha Cha, and la Rumba are some of my favorite dances, but it is hard to find American girls doing those.  I don’t understand it, particularly the Tango.  That dance allows the female to explode on the dance floor and express herself.  Before I leave South America, I hope to find my Cha Cha and Rumba heaven.

     My last night in Buenos Aires found me at a beautiful restaurant called Mayo Playo specializing in sea food.   I had Octopus of the Jules Verne’s size.  Tico and Jay, you should put it on the menu.  It was another beautiful night.  I kidded with the waiter all night.  Argentina has great wines and with the dollar three to one, I had a bottle from the reserve list.  The fried balls with shrimp inside were finger licking good.

     Argentina has so much to offer with its fishing, mountains, skiing, people, and other attractions, that I am embarrassed  to say that I didn’t do the best job of seeing it.  I will be back. Ushuaia is also part of Argentina but it is considered to be in another world.  It is the furthermost city in the world or Fin del Mundo.

USHUAIA, ARGENTINA

     What a difference  a 3½ hour flight makes.  Yesterday I was basking in the sun in Buenos Aires wearing a T-shirt, shorts and sandals.  Now I am layering  several clothes to keep warm.  I can’t believe I left my outer skin pants in Buenos Aires  in a suit case  that I stored at the hotel for when I return there next week.  It is cold. 

     Ushuaia is known as the last city before falling off the earth.  I’m sure some have their fingers crossed that I’ll be the first to fall.  Here, I hope to make the connection for the dive under the Antarctic ice caps.  It will be Russian equipment which makes me a little apprehensive. The window of opportunity is very narrow for doing the dive. Weather conditions, the currents, and the time of year all play a part.  It will be a dry suit condition which I never have done.   It should be interesting.  

     Ushuaia is a quaint little city nestled between the ocean and the mountains.  I started making contacts for doing the dive.  It may be more difficult to do.   We’ll have to see.  At least I climbed, no hiked up the mountain to a small glacier. The scenery was beautiful.  Rather than walking down the glacier I took off my outer skin jacket and put it under my hinny and slid down it.  Thank goodness there were no rocks, or I would have ripped a new one.

     Today I am going horse back riding.  Tomorrow, I have a dive with a dry suit scheduled.  The sea food is great, especially the Crab meat. I will probably be as big as Bill and not get to wear the Harley jacket.

02/16/2004

     Ushuaia is where I am finally getting into the grove as a traveler. Hopefully my fall semester as a freshman (traveler) is over and I have finally matured again as a traveler. Much has occurred and I have met many other travelers, mostly Germans and some Americans.

     The first group consisted of nine volunteers (teachers, computer expert, and other professionals) who joined the drive around the world team on behalf of Parkinson’s disease Research. They are all paying their way and any donations go straight to the Parkinson’s Institute for research. Nick Baggarly and his wife have a special interest in this project as his 35 yr. sister contracted Parkinson disease. They organized the team and got several sponsors. Land Rover provided five vehicles that will be auctioned off at the end of trip. 

     They started Nov. 1, 2003, and will travel over 31,000 miles overland for nine months, circumnavigating the globe crossing four continents and traveling into 34 countries to raise finds that will be used to help find a cure for Parkinson’s disease. They have a lot of students following them and asking questions. They have already answered over a 1,000 questions over the Internet. If you want to contact them, you do so at www.drivearoundthewolrd.com. Better still, send your contributions to The Parkinson’s Institute, 1170 Morse Avenue, Sunnyvale, Ca. 94089-9643. They are a very dedicated group and doing everything possible to raise the awareness of finding a cure for this devastating disease. Please help.

     Fred and Maggie Coleman are an American couple that have lived abroad most of their adult lives. They met in law school, but he became a journalist primarily with Newsweek. His assignments took him all over the world including covering Gorbechev’s visit to Cuba. He spent many years in Moscow, London, and Paris where he works for the Harold Tribune in Paris.

They convinced me that I needed to go to Iguazu, Argentina, and see the waterfalls that are bigger and more spectacular than Niagara Falls. I will try to squeeze it in after Peru. Time is getting so precious. It was great watching them still have that spark of life and love between them.

     James Nylander and his friend, hikers, from Ellensburg, Washington, were trying to get to an island to hike up a mountain.  Meeting Hans Schoenherr and his two sons, Eric and Jan, who were cycling in Argentina, along with Eke from East Germany, and Mikhail made for an interesting day and evening.  Hans teaches physics, history, and government. Mikhail is a professor who lectures abroad. Eke is based in London and is a renowned engineer. Needless to say, it was a very conversational evening in English and German that lasted until midnight. We agreed to meet again later and do a repeat.