Hotel Colonial Buenos Aires

We have managed to get out and about quite a lot and have walked many an Argentinian mile. The day we arrived we spent some time in Plaza Dorrego, one of the main squares in the area filled with clothing, leather, jewellery and trinket traders and clusters of seating and tables serviced by the cafes located in the facing buildings. In several places lengths of carpet had been laid down over the cobbles to allow tango dancers to put on a show and then pass around the hat. It has now ...

... another Mammoth/Telluride kid) and chit chat. Some other ski folks are there from Colorado. I realize I love the ski community. No matter where you are in the world there it is. Ski talk. Never a dull moment.

My last day in the city is filled with shopping, shopping and more shopping. I´m getting my christmas shopping done and its great! We had some good times here from hacky sac in the park ...

... and cacti we went to Las Salinas Grandes, or salt flats. I have never seen salt flats before so I was blown away! All you could see was salt, all around you! We learned that in the summer months (our winter) it rains in the region we were in. During this time there are a few inches of water covering the salt flats and once the rain stops in the winter months the salt slowly absorbs the water. There were various pools throughout the salt flats ...

... of Iguazu Falls and managing to visit Brazil and Paraguay in the process.

-       Encountering 150 'Buddy Bears' in Montevideo, each one painted to reflect a different country.

-       Mastering the tango...well, eight steps...and getting sore toes.

-       Watching in awe as gauchos galloped towards a suspended one inch ring and try and spear it with a something the size of a pencil. These guys clearly spend ...

... Naturally we sampled the latter two and Rob in fact managed to sample and become a customer of one of the former. The only trouble with the bars and clubs was the fact that everyone in Buenos Aires seems to be nocturnal. I had thought initially that this city would be the ideal place for Jamie, who likes to sleep all day and can happily stay up until 5am, but even BA proved to be too much of a challenge even for him. Despite our best efforts, we could not shake the innate ...

... and ended up wandering and finding myself at all these famous sights such as the Plaza de Mayo and the Congreso which is the pink government building but really I was just wanting to find the underground again as I wanted to sleep. Luckily I eventually found it back to the hostel and was in no mood to go out at night cos after sleeping a few hours I was in that groggy state that everyone who knows me well enough knows that this is what Im like after ...

As I sat waiting for an international haircut, my first of this travelling adventure, I began to think of mathematics. I'm sure the intellectual debate is still raging (or perhaps that should be 'recurring'?) as to whether maths is a science or not, but I think it's a general given that a specific formula should produce a specific result, ie. 2+2 = 4.

I propose to you that such mathematics cannot be ...

Waking up late the next morning, E and I shuffled down Calle Thames through Palermo and toward the Subte...Buenos Aires' own subway. Outside the plaza de Italia station, we stopped for a quick café at Havanna, Argentina's favorite chain for Café and Alfajores. If you haven't yet experienced one of these cookies, they are (like every treat argentinian) filled with dulce de leche and awesome. The more time we spend here, the more Dulce De Leche we seem to eat...which is not hard ...

... even though each generation tries to close the door to new immigrants!).   Both cultures seem to forget about the people who lived here before the Europeans; our American Indians and their Mapuche. We say goodbye to Nicholas with appreciation for the time well spent and make our way back to our apartment.   Next door, we stop in at the supermarket to pick up some fruit, cheese, yogurt and coca cola. Where has ...

... look is just for added effect. I wish I had more time to explore this country, which has been my refrain throughout this whole trip. I have only travelled around a small corner of Argentina, Chile, Peru and Bolivia respectively and the experience has just whetted my appetite for more - next time I would like to add Equador (the Galapagos Islands in particular) and Patagonia which is also a stepping off point for Antartica. I've ...