South America

It is commonly asked of the traveler the first impressions of a new land, that moment that helps to define the way you will process the rest of the information flooding your senses. So, you might ask, ¨What were our first impressions of Buenos Aires?¨ They came in flashes, these impressions, quick like liquid memory. We saw cobblestone streets, tattered and broken, parks with only patches of grass, so well worn they looked like comfortable sweaters, a reminiscence of the opulence of the 1920´s faded now, but still remembered fondly.

As quick as our sight filled with new images our stomachs were aching for their own experiences and food was not far behind. We actually spent most of our first day eating with some sightseeing, if you can count the inside of cafes and restaurants as sightseeing. Our first meal in BA was at a small (maybe the size of a walk-in closet filled with kitch hanging from the walls and rafters) shop that sold empanadas. We split two delicioso veg and cheese empanadas and an Argentinean beer (I know it´s blasphemy to drink beer in a wine producing country) and thought we were in 7th heaven. Because we are ever so inter-na-tion-al we went to a Cuban restaurant for dinner called Rey Castro or King Castro. What an experience. Castro would have been pleased. The food was only the backdrop to the show, with singers, a salsa dancer, and of course a drag queen comedian. There was a dance floor on the third level that was only starting to fill at 2 am, but we couldn´t keep up with the locals and sleep called us back to our hotel. We will try, yes we will, to stay up past 2 (but as of today we´ve had little success.)

Today we practice the language of passion, the language of Tango. And this evening we will put into motion our new vocabulary at a Molonga.