Week #5 & 6: North by Northwest

After finishing up my time patagonia my journey once again took me through Buenos Aires as to allow me to begin my travels through the northwest parts (i.e., Rosario, Córdoba, Salta) of Argentina. Only this time I think I finally figured out how to fully appreciate the city. Not sure if I have fully acclimated to a big international city that isn't NYC or if finally found all the nice places to go & chill but I when it was time to leave I didn't want to...I actually stayed an extra day in BA to keep the good times going. This was great as I was able to hit up the first futból game of the season for River Plate. River Plate, being one of the 2 major futból team in Buenos Aires, has a long & rich history that could probably come close to match any of the iconic sports teams (i.e., Yankees, Celtics, Steelers, Notre Dame, etc) we have in the USA. Surprisingly for as rowdy & intense as the fans are during the game they were just as well behaved & orderly post-game, despite giving up a late goal to Colon to have the game finish in a disappointing 2 - 2 draw that River dominated for the most part. Of course the police were out ready to throw down if needed. And it helps that alcohol is prohibited the entire game. Yes you heard correct.

Let's pause for a tangential point. As I am now concluding my Argentian part of the trip I thought it would be fun to pass along some of my insightful observations of the people / way of life here. In order to understand Argentineans you need to understand a few things...beyond their love of food, partying and mate (i.e. traditional tea) it's important to know they also harbor a love of Diego Maradona that is ridiculous, they work hard but on their own terms and they have the closest thing you get to a carnitarean diet...as you can tell I am a fan. Also I feel very confident in saying that a housing bubble does not exist here...however there may be a bubble in this. Seriously pick any city in the country, pick any street you walk on...you can find ladies undergarments in all shapes, size & colors. These are not even seasonal businesses...demand for this stuff is high year round. Apparently Argentineans love silky smooth ensembles the same way that Americans love guns & violence. Score one for the Argentians in this regard.