Trip to south of Equator (Argentina and Uruguay)

Dulche de Leche, Empanadas, Mate, Tango, Gaucho, Tigre, Recoleta, Boca Juniors, Obilisco, Avinido Julio de 9, Buquebus, La Plata, Caminito, Tortoni, Florida , Plaza de Mayo, El Estable, Porta Madero, San Isidro, Hellato, menorahs, Huevos , Colonia de Sacramento and Beef, Beef and ones more Beef - is a quick description of our trip to Argentina (Buenos Aires) and Uruguay (Colonia de Sacramento).

We arrived to Argentina – country ruled by Gucci loving, high hill wearing Senora El-Presidente Cristina Fernández de Kirchner on morning of December 10 2009. Actually Argentina is ruled by familia Kirchners since 2003 before Cristina’s hubby Nester Kirchner was a president and in 2011 he is planning to run again, Sort of family business.

Argentina and Uruguay are Spanish speaking countries, however none of Argentines and Uruguayans will tell you that they speak Spanish. Spaniards, Chileans, Columbians, Venezuelans, Mexicans will agree that they speak Spanish, but not Argentines and Uruguayans – they speak Castellano. Even ATM machine at Buenos Aires will ask you if you prefer service in English or Castellano. Good bye in Argentina is Chao – and this is one of really few words they borrowed from Italian language, the people who a predominantly Italian who speak Spanish (sorry Castellano).

Portanos ( the name of people from Buenos Aires ) are really proud of two things which they are considered biggest in a world, to be correct the widest in a world. First is La Plata river which every portano will tell you is 274 kilometers wide, however if you look at the world map it is look like a bay not a river. Second is Avenida Julio de 9 is a widest Street in a world, I would agree, I counted myself it is 19 lanes wide and I was not able to cross it in one green light.

In Buenos Aires you can find two kinds of taxi services, they are Radio Taxi and taxis who are pretend to be taxi. The taxi drivers of second kind of service got a hang of one of latest technologies – color copy Xeroxing, which is very helpful in creating good quality paper copies of Argentinean currency of all denomination, which they distributed easily in a form of change or splitting the big amount. They are quite the tourist guides therefore their services cost three or four times more than the Radio Taxi and after that you left with a souvenir of nicely Xeroxed Argentinean Pesos given to you as a change.

Argentina is a country with a high Spanish influence; however the best known Spanish pass time of bull fighting is outlawed there, they are killing cows for different reason spatially for beef and lather. O, Argentinean Beef - if you tried it once you are not going to be able to eat beef anywhere else. So be careful, if you want to enjoy red meat once in awhile, stay away from Argentinean one, because all other beef you are not going to enjoy anymore. However regarding pastime Argentinians got their own – it is a Tango. You can see people dancing tango everywhere - clubs, cafés, restaurants and even streets. If you see two men dancing Tango it doesn’t mean you crashed alternative life stile party, it is a very common phenomenon in Buenos Aires. Tango originally started as a dance between two men and woman came only latter in a picture as far of the dance concern.

Argentinians cannot start their day without giving a kiss to the left chick of the familiar for them person they met on a street, work or etc. No matter who you are man, woman, what kind line of work you do you are up for a kiss if you met someone whom you know. Smooch in a left chick in Argentina is an alternative to handshake in America. Especially it’s looks funny than you see group of construction workers or policemen doing it on the street.

On December 14, 2009 we left hassle and bustle of Buenos Aires cross the widest river in a world - La Plata and reached a quiet Uruguayan shore. Town of Colonia del Sacramento is a first Uruguayan town which was built by Portuguese settlers in 17 century. History of the town is a constant battle between Portuguese and Spanish domination. First it was Portuguese town when it become Spanish, when Portuguese again, Spanish again, Portuguese, Spanish, Portuguese, Spanish, Portuguese, Spanish, Portuguese, Spanish, when for a change it become Brazilian and since 1825 it is in Uruguayan hands, I assume now for a long.

During the trip we met groups of different people from all over the world. We met Argentines, Uruguayans, Paraguayans, Columbians, Swiss, Belgians, Finns, Russian Jews from US (like us) and many others. We met Chinese-American guy who were born in Hong Kong and now lives in Sweden. We met Jewish-Russian Israeli former flight attended who were born in Poland and now lives in US. We celebrated Hanukkah with Buenos Aires Lubavich Chasidim on a Eva Peron square in a center of Palermo ( biggest borrow at Buenos Aires). Could you imagine Eva Peron Square full of Chasidim and menorah in a center. In our hotel we met group of De Paul students from Chicago, one of them started talking to me in Spanish, despite the fact that we conversed in English day before. I told him that my Spanish is little rusty and is good only for saying Holla and Muchas Gratsias. He was surprised and told me that I look like I can speak Spanish, he thought I am Argentinean. I told him that I only look like the one, looks could be deceiving. American tourists thought of us as Argentinians, however Argentinians assumed that we are their northern neighbors from Brazil. And this is not a first time than it’s happened, on the previous trip to Czech republic locals thought the same. So in words of our Brazilian look a likes we said – Chao! To Argentina on December 16, 2009 and arrived to Chicago next day.