The Adventures of Whit & Dan: Buenos Aries

After 1 month, 3 countries, 6 cities, 2 brothers, and a whole lot of steak and empanadas...we're back home in Arequipa. The highlight of the trip was definitely Buenos Aries. It is a big dirty city and has all the hustle of San Francisco or LA, but has a real charm to it that it's hard to quite put into words. Buenos Aries lived up to all the hype, with busy fast talking Argentinians, filling the streets. Of course there is the tourist trap of the tango shows, as they make no qualms that they are the birthplace of this sultry dance. But after carefully choosing a show at the Buenos Aries Cultural Center, we were taken back by the beauty of the dance and music that defines this city.

Buenos Aries truly is the city that never sleeps. Most people don't even go out for dinner until 10 or 11, and if you plan on going out for a night on the town, plan on staying out all night (6 or 7 am is pretty typical). But Argentinians don't mind the late nights, because they will just sleep through the next day to recover. Dan & I truly felt like Old Man & Mrs. Ramsey (keep it down you darn whipper snappers!)

Dan & I also finally got an opportunity to play in a real soccer game too! These 2 guys started a group in Arequipa dedicated to getting tourists and locals together for indoor soccer...so Dan & I signed up and he got to play a game (top points earner, not to brag or anything, but my man rocks) and I got to play 2 games with woman's teams. I was surprised to find that the game I played in with tourists (Americans & Europeans) was a much harder game then the one with the Argentinean girls. I think it's because soccer is a mainly a boys sport in South America and most girls play volleyball instead. But it was so much fun and I got to learn a few choice Spanish words that you won't learn in any school ;)

Now we are back in Arequipa and have 1 week of rest before embarking on the last leg of our journey...Cusco and the Inca Trail! We are officially in training as our hike departure date is November 21.

Yummy sausages at street faire in BA

A happy man

This is where the Boca Jr's play!

The elections were held while we were there and Christina won a 2nd term.

I can't tell if he's hugging the cow & trying to put him in a head lock :)

Street Fair in BA - this lady made these beautiful scarves

Home-made raviolli's - muy ricisimia!

A picture speaks a thousand words

walking bridge in BA

We rented a car in Uruguay to get around

The boat over to Montevideo (Uruguay) from BA

Punta Del Este - a beautiful little beach town in Uruguay, this is where all the "rich" people here go to vacation in their summers. However we went on off-season so this place was like a ghost town.