Going home?
Arequipa, Peru

Well, we've decided that we're going to empty our savings account and continue travelling for another year. We're just going to keep on heading East, and see where our noses take us.

I wish.

No, really, in between enjoying Peruvian festivals and scenery during the last week or so, we have been slowly starting to prepare our minds for the adjustment that will be happening in five days when we fly home. Jen is probably more ready than I am to be returning home, but we're both of the opinion that a year has been a decent amount of the time to be on the road.

Of course, getting used to a regular routine is going to be an adjustment in itself. We have essentially becomed accustomed to having a new adventure practically every day for the last year. Of course, when we're stuck behind a desk and longing to be out of the country, we can always pull up the website and refresh our memories of the incredible experience we've had.

And so, to help make things easier to adjusting to life at home, we've been talking about things that we're looking forward to seeing and doing once we return to Seattle. Of course, seeing our families is probably the biggest thing we're looking forward to, and also our friends.

But I think it is the simple things at home that have the most appeal right now. Playing with our cat, Loki. Ordering #8 (spicy noodles) at our favourite Vietnamese restaurant, Tan Duc. Sleeping in our queen-size, clean, and comfortable bed. Sleeping in the same bed for more than a few days. Cooking. (Believe that one or not!)

Not breathing in leaded gas fumes from smoking automobiles and busses. Not inhaling second-hand smoke at Internet cafes. Fresh salad. Plain old white rice. Chopsticks. Having the bank account grow instead of shrink. Blue jeans. Sneakers. Cotton shirts. A decent haircut from my barber Jose. An electric shaver. Our piano.

Not having to open up our backpacks every day. Not having to wear a money belt all the time. Not having to carry passports and plane tickets. Not having to lock up the laptop. Having a broadband wireless Internet connection. Playing hockey.

Ahh... now that makes me smile when I think of home! We'll try not to think about taxes, traffic, overtime, weeds, or bills...

Boy, this is going to be an interesting time!

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Inti Raymi and Arequipa
Arequipa, Peru

Once we were awake enough to be walking through Cuzco, we realized that it was a FULL day of festivities in town. It seemed like everyone who lived in the sacred area and hundreds of miles around Cuzco were in town that day. The parade of communities (with costumes and music) began at about 10 in the morning, and was still going full blast when we walked back to the hotel at 10pm! It was virtually impossible to cross the street anywhere near the square, or Ave Sol, the main street.

We also found places where the locals all ate their meals. Miny kebab, soup, chica and other food stands abound. Winston got a satay looking thing and said it was quite good. It sure smelt delicious! We finally got to Kintara, a Japanese restaurant that had been closed the two times we tried to go there. Service was extremely slow, but the food was delicious so it was worth it. We tried to go again the next evening, but surprise surprise, it was closed for Inti Raymi!

Thursday morning, we woke up to the sound of rain. Oh oh. We (and all of Cuzco) had the day planned to be outdoors. Oh well. A little rain never hurt anyone. It was ironic though, that in the 8 days we had been in Cuzco, it only rained on the most crucial day! Inti Raymi, is the party of the Sun God. The sun is very important to the Incas, so they celebrated this huge feast annually in order to be rewarded the following year.

We found out early on that the tour we signed up for transport and guide services was not the most efficient. Due to the rain, people arrived late, and things got a bit confusing over which bus people belonged to. It was also a cold morning, so the vendors did well selling hats, gloves and especially poncho. We bought 2 ourselves, even though we had on rain jackets already. The rain never did stop once the whole time we were waiting on the bus.

Finally at 10am (we had been waiting since 8am), we finally set off on foot to Qorikancha, the Sun Temple. Just a few blocks away, it was funny to see all the tourists in their brightly coloured disposable ponchos. There were as many local tourists as well. When we got to Qorikancha, the ceremony has just begun.

There were rows and rows of dancers, all in different coloured costumes. Our guide explained the different functions of each group of performers. There were women designated as virgins of the sun, musicians, sweepers, warriors, women who throw flowers when the inca goes by, different priests, the Inca and his wife, Qoya. I'm probably missing something, but you get the gist. All, there were also representatives of the four corners of the Inca empire (north, east, south , west).

It was neat to approach the temple, and see all the people moving from the building outside to the terraces. The music was very pleasant and festive. Our guide explained that they had been using this very same music since the Incan times (1400s). The Inca's speech was in Quechuan, the language of the Inca people. Since many people in Cuzco still continue to speak the language, we can only deduce that they were descendants from the Incan empire. The Inca greets the Sun God, then invites everyone to join them for the festivities at Sacsaywaman (a ruined temple on top of a hill above Cuzco).

Next, the crowd moves over to the main square, and waited for the arrival of the procession. First to arrive were the conch blowers, to announce the arrival of the procession. Then the different groups (dancers, warriors, flower people, etc.) arrived one at a time. Both the Inca and his wife were carried in on their thrones, the Inca always the last one in the procession. He is all decked out in gold, and makes all the speeches.

At the main square, the Inca greets the mayor and other important people of Cuzco, and says a few more words to the Sun. Again, he extends the invitation to Sacsaywaman, for the final celebration.¨ There were so many people at the square that we had people pushing against us the entire time trying to catch a glimpse of the ceremony. There were also constant requests for us to let kids and older locals in front of us. Luckily we were covered for this part of the ceremony as we were in a covered walkway in front of the shops, across from the Cathedral.

Finally it's time to head back to the bus and head towards Sacsaywaman. This took some time as we somehow had extra people on our bus (not enough seats) and finally we got things sorted out. Driving to Sacsaywaman was an ordeal. The road up goes through residential area, and some slopes. It was not designed to handle hundreds of buses, all trying to get up at the same time. Needless to say, there were a ton of traffic jam. The downhill lane was nonexistent, there were 2 lanes of uphill only, all full of buses. It took so long to get up there that Winston managed a 30min nap.

Wow, what a sight when we got to the area. We went to Sacsaywaman just 2 weeks ago with Rochelle, Jon and Becky, and the only thing out there was green pasture and the ruins. This time, we started seeing people, cars, horses and tents before we could even see the temple. Many of the local people come up the night before, and families just camp out. There was a lot of smoke everywhere. In fact, most of the ground looked dug up. What the people had done were to build adobe fireplaces for cooking. When I say many, I mean over hundreds of these smoky stacks can be seen. It was interesting.

In a corner of the field, a carousel like ride was set up, as were carnival games. We didn't get up close, but I would imagine that it was full of local people. Once we actually got off the bus (that took a while if you can imagine the number of pedestrians everywhere) we walked through a maze of food and handicraft stalls towards the stage area. Sacsaywaman has a flat center area, and that's where the stage and tourist bleachers are set up. On one side of the stage, is the terraced temple with the giant cut up stones, where it is closed to the public, and used as part of the ceremonies. Immediately across from it, is a small hill, surrounded by boulders of different sizes and also some terraced Inca cut stones. It is here that the locals and some tourists gather (free vs the USD $50 and $70 seats).

There were people everywhere on the rocks. Every year, the locals show up early in the morning to claim the best seats. Some of them will sell a space for you in return for some soles. We were counting on getting a couple of these rock space, so we did not sign up for the tourist seats. By the time we arrived, the ceremony was about to start. We looked around to see IF there was any place we might be able to sit, when we were beckoned by a couple of locals, perched on a rock about 10 feet above us.

Boy, we got so lucky. The seats were amazing. We were just slightly higher than the top bleacher seats, almost directly across from the center stage. It was a great view, better than any of the $70 seats, and we only paid 5 soles for them (about $1.50USD). Remember the rain.. so in our yellow and orange ponchos, we were part of the lollipop looking crowd out there.

The ceremony aside, it was interesting just to watch people. There were local vendors walking around selling beer, ponchos, and all kinds of snacks. People either sat on the ends of rocks, or stood (we got seats, very lucky). I got to dangle my feet down a straight rock face, so there was absolutely no obstruction anywhere.

There were more performers here than in the city. This time, there were more dancers and chiefs for the four areas of the Inca Civilization. There were also 4 rows of flag bearers, on the different levers of the stone terraces across from us. It was a neat sight to see the large flags being waved to the music. The flags are all rainbow coloured, the flag of Cuzco.

There were several parts of the ceremony. Luckily we had a printed guide with us (in English) so we could follow along. First the Inca gave a message to the sun, and everyone sings. Then the four regional chiefs gave a report and offerings, all with dancing. Next is the ceremony of the chicha, maize beer. Winston tried some on the Inca trail and says "never again!"

Afterwards, they lit the sacred fire which will remain burning till the next Inti Raymi. Parts of the flames were brought to 6 different haystacks on the field and these were set on fire. Unfortunately the wind/rain blew the smoke in the direction of the stage so picture taking was not ideal for a bit. Next is the sacrifice of the llama. Luckily they no longer kill a live llama, so it's just a simulation. Still, they pull out something that looks like the heart and lungs.

Then they bless some bread and mix them with the blood, which is then shared by the Inca, with the priests and other participants (somehow I doubt they really partake in that stuff these days). At the very end, the Inca gives his final message, and would you believe it, after raining all day (by now it is 4pm), the sun comes out just over the center stage, and a rainbow appears to our left. It was all a bit surreal, but very cool because the Inca had just raised his hands to praise the sun. Hm, maybe there is some validity to this sun worshipping stuff ;)

At the very end, the Inca returns to his throne, and he is carried around the field, waving at everyone. It was definitely a very interesting and colourful ceremony. Getting back to Cuzco was also an event itself. We decided not to take the bus down (it'll probably be another traffic jam) opting instead to walk, as we did when we were up there 2 weeks ago. Of course, first we had to walk by the popcorn and cotton candy sellers, then the rows and rows of handicraft sellers on the ground. It was a very slow and packed crowd. We ended up on a upper terrace and had to climb down several steep water runways to get down to the path. It was a fun adventure though!

The evening was very quiet in comparison to the previous night. The only people that seemed to be about were tourists. All the locals probably went back home. We had to get up early the next morning, for our long 12 hour bus ride to Arequipa. We had to stopover in Puno, where were first visited when we arrived in Peru. It was nice to see Lake Titicaca again one last time. The bus ride itself was quite smooth, just extremely long. We finally arrived in Arequipa at 9pm last night. Yawn!!

This morning, we went to see the famous Santa Catalina Monastery. It is actually a convent, and today there are 30 nuns still living there. It was created in the late 1500s by a wealthy widow, and she only selected wealthy nuns for her convent. Traditionally the nuns were 2nd born daughters of wealthy Spaniards. So these nuns had a comfortable lifestyle, with 1-4 slaves each. Walking around the one city block compound, full of fruit trees, squares, cobblestone walkways, and rooms, we sure coule imagine what it was like those hundreds of years ago. Wealthier nuns had bigger rooms, and larger kitchens. In fact, history says that these nuns would invite musicians and performers to entertain them. It wasn't till the late 1800s that the hedonistic lifestyle was stopped, and 30 years ago, the mayor of Arequipa forced the monastery to open their doors to the public. It was a nice 2 hour visit, that's for sure. A beautiful and picturesque place.

We also visited Juanita, the famous 500 year old ice maiden of Peru. She was found at the top of Mt. Ampato, which has been covered under glaciers for a long time until the eruption of neighbouring Mt. Sabancaya, which began in 1990. In 1995, a team that has been researching high altitude sacred sites went to the summit. Here, they found Juanita, believed to have been sacrificed when she was 12-13 years old. Because she had been buried beneath glaciers for so long, she was very well preserved, along with her apparel, ceramics and metals. They also found 2 other mummies on the same mountain, also with ceremonial objects. Altogether researchers have located 18 Incan child mummies, all sacrified on mountain tops, from Peru down to Argentina. It was definitely a very interesting piece of history, and even more interesting to see the frozen body of Juanita (she is being stored at -20 celcius).

It was interesting walking around Arequipa. We are staying by the main square, which is a beautiful area centered by a large fountain, and surrounded by flowering plants and park benches. The cathedral takes up a complete block on the north side of the square. We went inside the cathedral earlier today, and it is unlike any other catheral we have seen. Since it was just recently reconstructed in 2001, the interior is quite contemporary. Winston whispered to me when we were sitting down at the pew that this was the first 'peach' church he had ever been too. Indeed, the interior is all peach, except for the white trims.

There are many colonial buildings, and the streets are all cobblestoned. The three sides of the square are lined with shops, hotels and restaurants. The buildings are all two storeyed, so the second levels are filled with cafe seating. Unfortunately we ran out of time to sit and people watch up there.

We are leaving early tomorrow morning for the Colcas Canyon. We will spend the night there, hopefully see some condors, and be back on Monday afternoon for our flight to Lima. Then it's time for an overnight bus to Ayacucho on Monday night, arriving there on Tuesday morning. Soon enough, Wednesday, is the beginning of our long trip back home. It is difficult to imagine that we are down to our last few days.

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Don't Cry for Me Argentina
Lima, Peru

We are back in Lima again (for the third time). Buenos Aires was a wonderful city, with tons to do and see. It would have been a perfect holiday spot except my poor lungs and sinuses were not very happy with the ciggy smoke everywhere.

We booked an inexpensive 5 day 4 night package to BA out of Lima on the 17th (it was a bit last minute, but the departure worked out well with Scott and Rochelle's). Flying out at midnight and arriving at 7am (Argentina is 2 hours ahead of Peru, which is another 2 hours ahead of Seattle) was tough. Luckily we were able to check into our room at the Gran Hotel Argentinos at 9am, and basically just crashed till our phone rang at 1pm.

Our guides Marcello (who speaks no English) and his wife Rossana (who speaks English) were waiting to brief us on our stay and offer us additional tour options. At this time, we realized that somewhere between immigration and customs, we had lost my ticket! Argh! Between being groggy from the red eye flight and plain tiredness, we must have just not paid enough attention. In the year of travel, we have not lost anything important so this was a first.

Luckily with Rossana's help (over 3 days and lots of Spanish), we finally managed to get me a replacement ticket with a $25 penalty (a small price to pay for not getting stuck in Argentina, though legally I could stay here for 3 months). Whew.

Buenos Aires is very cosmopolitan, as Winston has mentioned. It is easy to enjoy all the cafes, restaurants, theatres and shops that are available. There is definitely no shortage of activities there. We filled in our 4 nights very quickly. The first night we went to the futbol (soccer/football) game between the two rival city teams. That was very exciting though a bit chaotic getting to the stadium.

The next day, we went on a half day city tour, and saw the different neighbourhoods. The further north you go, the weathier the neighbourhoods while south is the area of the poor. Interestingly, River Plate (the football team we watched last night) is the team for the north, while Boca Jr is the team down south. It was interesting driving around the Boca area. All the houses and stores there are painted with the same blue and yellow stripes. Flags were hung all over the place.

Also in the Boca area is a very colourful street called Caminito. A one block street, it was created as a place for artist and musicians to gather and display their talents a long time ago. Interestingly, all the buildings are painted different colours, and papermache or wood statues of people hang off balconies beckoning those down below. It is a very interesting place. We did not get to stay long there but we were told that there is a lot of tango being danced on the streets and in the cafes.

In the north, we drove through the neighbourhoods of Palermo, Retiro and Recoleta. These are all beautiful places, with lots of green spaces and gardens. We stopped by the rose garden and walked around. There is also a new neighbourhood called Puerto Madero, which used to be the old port. Now it is a trendy area with lofts, restaurants and offices. It reminds us of Woolloomooloo in Sydney.

That evening, we went to see a show called Opera Pampa. It is an hour long outdoor event, depicting the history of Argentina, beginning with the Indians in the Andes. There were beautiful costumes, dancing, singing and thoroughbred horses. There must have been over 20 horses in the show. It was a nice done event. We were a bit apprehensive when we saw that the show was outside, because it was a very cold evening. Luckily they provided nice warm fleece ponchos so we were able to stay cozy. In fact, we asked for some snacks cause we were hungry and dinner wasn´t till 9:30pm, and they brought us hot empanadas (meat pastries). Yummy!

Dinner itself was quite interesting. We sat with a friendly Columbian honeymooners who had shared a ride with us on the way over. Conversing in half English and spots of Spanish, we enjoyed the evening finding out about each other´s countries. They assured us that Columbia is absolutely safe right now. It is only CNN that has the hostage situations blown out of proportions, and the only danger spot is in the middle of the jungle. Ah, back to the dinner. It was a traditional Argentinian bbq, with ribs, steaks and pig. Interesting, though the meats were fairly fat.

On Saturday, we went for a fascinating tour of the Colon Theatre. Completed in 1908, it screams luxury and culture when you are inside. We got to see the entrance areas, waiting rooms, main Auditorium, practice rooms, store rooms for shoes, wigs, costumes, etc. and set design. It was very cool, and I couldn´t help but think how wonderful it would be to work in a place like that. Can you imagine a place that stores every piece of equipment and costume used from 1908?!

In the afternoon, we joined a tour to go visit the town of San Isidro, and the Tiger River. San Isidro, as Winston mentioned before, is an upscale neighbourhood with nice colonial houses. Several decades ago when Buenos Aires went through yellow fever and other diseases, the wealthy moved up north and set up residences there. Our short train ride showed us mansions with swimming pools and tennis courts.

The Tiger River area itself was very interesting. In the area is the Parana Delta, where pieces of land all reside among streams and rivers. We enjoyed the hour long cruise, viewing the cute homes on the islands, and the many birds in the area.

That night, we went to dinner and tango show at El Querandi, a restaurant that has been inexistance since 1920s. Located in an old colonial house, it was a neat setting. Dinner here was ala carte, and there was plenty of options. It was quite delicious, and I know Winston enjoyed his bottle of red wine too. The tango show itself was fantastic, as were the musicians on stage. We were entertained by 2 singers, and 6 dancers for an hour. We were always awed by the speed at which they can move their legs.

We had a lazy Sunday, but it was ok since it rained all day. We made a last minute decision to go see the ballet at 5pm, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Immediately afterwards, we went to another dinner and tango show called Senor Tango. This was outside of the downtown area, in a stable like place, that was decorated western style. A bit Las Vegas like, but still, quite enjoyable. It was a fine way to end our stay in Buenos Aires, with lots of singing, dancing and music.

Our flight to Lima was not till 9pm on Monday night, so I browsed through the shops a bit in the afternoon. It was a long night, flying into Lima at 12:30am, and waiting till our 5:45am flight to Cuzco. I started this blog in Lima at the airport yesterday, but am now in Cuzco. We were so tired yesterday that we crashed at the hotel the entire day. It was worth it though, now we are ready to explore Cuzco again, and tomorrow is the big Inti Raymi festival (the reason why we came back here). Already I can see the stage being setup at the Plaza de Armas and Cathedral. It should be a very interesting day.

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Flying Over Nasca Lines
Buenos Aires, Argentina

Just a quick rewind back to a week ago. We flew back to Lima from Puerto Maldanado (with a stopover in Cusco) and had our final group dinner and said goodbye to our great travelmates. In the morning, Rochelle, Winston and I headed off early to the Ormeno bus station for our 9am departure to Nasca. Well, it turns out that our bus didn't leave till 10:30am (we were there by 8:20) though of course no one really informed us. It was a tad frustrating sitting and waiting without knowing what's going on.

Anyhow, we eventually set off. We were in a Royal Class bus, which is essentially a double decker, very comfortable deluxe bus with food service, and movies. Not bad for a 6 hour ride. It was very interesting to see the landscape change as we headed south. Lima itself is not a pretty sight. We watched the scenery for from skyscrapers, to shanty mud houses, to desert, to sand dunes, and finally more desert. It is a very dry coast line!

Nasca itself is situated inland, about 424km from the Lima. The only reason people visit this town is to view the famous Nasca lines. The next morning, we went to visit the cemetery about 20km out of town. The graves here were from the 1400s (pre Inca) though the Nasca civilization itself was during 200BC to 200AD. There are altogether over 200 graves in this area, but only 12 have been 'fixed up' by archeologists as exhibits. Unfortunately the entire place had been combed by grave robbers a long time ago, so most of the skeleton were scattered everywhere.

It is difficult to see the bottom of most graves as the wind had blown the sand and covered them up over the years. It is possible though, to see remnants of ceramics, cotton and skeleton fragments all over the surface of the sand. The bodies buried here were all mummified. In fact, when the archeologists arrived here 40 years ago, many of the mummies still had hair and skin. It is still possible to see hair today, but certainly the skin has already deteriorated from the exposure to the sun and air. Still, it was very interesting. The ancient people had such a good method for mummifying that the bodies were quite well preserved. The really good ones have been taken to museums around the country for preservation.

Next we had a LONG wait at the airport. Since the weather was lousy that morning (i.e. haze and fog), the flights could not leave until the weather cleared up. You basically sit around until it's your turn. Luckily for us, we managed to get up there just in time to get back for our bus to Lima. The plane ride itself was interesting. We were in a very tiny single prop plane; we were the only 3 passengers, and that's maximum capacity. In the 30min ride, the pilot tilted the plane left and ride so that we could see the lines. We were all ok, but I definitely started to feel a bit sick after a while (especially since I kept reading my map to match the picture we were seeing down below). The lines were incredible, and it is fascinating that it has remained there for so many years. There is no evidence as to their existence though there are many theories surrounding them. The largest animal is over 100m long, while the average is about 50m.

Back in Lima, very late at night, we met up with Scott at the Marriott and enjoyed a fantastic sushi dinner across the street. We shared a giant sushi boat, and nearly finished. The next day, we ran around making arrangements for our trip to Buenos Aires, and a few internal flights for Peru. That night, the four of us flew out at midnight; Scott and Rochelle went back to Seattle while we headed southeast to Argentina.

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On Ballet and Soccer
Buenos Aires, Argentina

Well, this is our last day in Buenos Aires; we're heading back to Peru tonight... should be in Cusco tomorrow. It has been a fun five days in this lively town, where we have been entertained to our hearts' content. I don't think we've ever spent so much time just watching shows and events, eating, and going on local tours before. Jen will blog a bit later about our soccer match, city tour, Opera Pampa, Teatro Colon tour, Tigre River tour, Querandí tango/dinner show, Teatro Colon ballet, and Senor Tango dinner show. I just wanted to comment briefly on two of those events.

Watching the ballet at the Teatro Colon was actually a real treat. Not that either Jen or I are ballet fans; we're actually not, but it's difficult to not appreciate it once in a while, especially when you're sitting in a first level box seat on the side of the stage at the Teatro Colon. And those incredible seats cost us a whopping $13 USD. Hard to believe. The theatre is pretty incredible, and seems to have all the trappings and materials from its opening day in 1908. We watched three ballet performances, which ranged in style from classical/traditional to contemporary/weird. (I said we weren't ballet experts, didn't I?) The music was familiar, as the house orchestra played Bach, Tchaikovsky, and Handel. It was a welcome taste of classical culture that we haven't had in years, let alone on this trip.

On the other end of the entertainment spectrum though, was the Boca-River soccer (futbol) match that we attended. As luck would have it, we arrived in Buenos Aires to catch this intense semi-final matchup between the huge city rivals, Boca Junior, and River Plate. We learned that this rivalry makes the Mets-Yankees "subway series" look like cupcake in comparison. River's home stadium seats 80,000 rabid fans, and is called Monumental; this is where we attended the match. Interestingly, there are no Boca fans who attend games at Monumental, as there are no River fans who attend games at Boca stadium, for simple reasons of personal safety. So, it was a massive, deafening crowd of 80,000 red and white soccer fans who filled the stadium with noise. This lasted until the last minute of the game; as it turned out, there was a tie, and the decision turned to a shoot-out, in the odd way they determine tie-breakers in soccer. River went down to Boca on the 5th shot, and so the crowd was completely disappointed and silent, watching the Boca players run around in circles on the field in triumph. It was still a very entertaining match for us to watch, and another glimpse of what true fanatical fans are like.

There is certainly a lot of Buenos Aires that we haven't seen, and we obviously haven´t seen anything of Argentina outside the city. The City Tour wasn't able to hide the slum areas that spread across the railway tracks just outside the city, and I'm sure there are a lot of areas that we wouldn't want to walk in at night. But we now know that this is a place we would like to return to one day, and definitely recommend Buenos Aires as a destination to visit if planning a trip to South America.

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Impressions of Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires, Argentina

Well, our snap decision to detour to Argentina for five days has proven to be a very worthwhile impulse. We have very much enjoyed the last three days we have spent in Buenos Aires, and look forward to the next two with anticipation.

Except for one thing. We are ridiculously under-dressed for this town.

Boy, does this place have a sense of style. At least, in the tourist areas that we've been frequenting. We're complete tourists here, in every sense of the word; doing tourist activities, eating out in tourist restaurants, and seeing tourist shows. And really, it's ok... just for a bit, anyway.

But boy, while walking into the Teatro Colon, the famous theatre whose acoutics apparently rival the opera houses of France, Milan, and the Met in New York, we have never felt so grubby before. Our well-worn travel clothes (I have a patch in my shirt from Cambodia and a patch on the seat of my pants from Peru) seem to shout at everyone, "These people are uncivilized!" Oh well, they'll have to do. In fact, in about half an hour, we're heading back to the Teatro Colon to take in a ballet. How about that for a change, eh?

Anyway, Buenos Aires has created quite a strong impression with us; we really enjoy it here. To me, it is a kind of cross between Madrid and Manhattan... there is the spectacle of lights and modern skyscrapers (ok, not quite as tall as New York's), but mixed with the grit and character of streets with personality and charm. There are upper class neighbourhoods with huge estates, walled off compounds and swimming pools, and working class neighbourhoods with family-run corner stores, parking lot soccer (futbol) fields, and grungy parks that project a fierce attitude and pride.

That's something that has come across in just the last three days, that people here seem to be justifiably proud. Pride in their city, way of life, history, and country. Remember, this is all just a first impression, as we've only been here a few days, but it seems pretty evident to us, anyway.

We're limping by on our pigeon Spanish, as there is little here in the way of English. Our city tour and the shows we've seen have given us a glimpse of local entertainment; we watched Opera Pampa, a tango/dinner show, and a fantastic soccer match that pitted rivals River Plate and Boca Junior against each other... more on that later.

Ack, have to go, the ballet starts in 20 minutes. Never thought I'd be saying those words on this trip! More later...

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