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Feb. 10
Great day here in Mar del Plata. Just spent the
day exploring the huge beach and the port on a
balmy, warm sunny summer day.
There is only one thing that fascinates me more
than trains and that is ships and boats. The
harbour here is huge and there is quite a fishing
industry. There is a wharf that goes out 1 km into
the ocean - not straight out but diagonally. Of
course, I just had to walk it to the end. Along
the way I passed the mother of all scrap heaps of
fishing trawlers. With the skyline of Mar del
Plata in the background and at times the odd
walrus, it made for quite a sight. I find with the
digital camera you get to enjoy beautiful sights
(and there are many) over and over. It is a great
way to record a trip.
I have been walking huge distances exploring
wherever my interest takes me and there is a lot
to see. The only time I spent in my room today
was to shower and change and then go out again.
It is now almost past midnight here and the
streets are packed like the Market in Ottawa would be on a
nice Saturday afternoon. It is hard to move out
there. The restaurants are still full and the
only tickets I could have gotten this morning to
a stage show here was for the mid-night show. I
should have taken it because I don´t feel tired.
So far Argentina has been very exciting. I am
struck at how one hears no foreign languages.
Sometimes I have the desire to pump fellow
tourists for information but there are none.
The Spanish here is quite different in terms of
dialect--all "y" and "ll" sounds-and there are
many in the language-- are pronounced--"shaw". So
the word "calle" meaning street becomes "cashaw"
etc.
The familiar "tu eres"--"you are" does not exist
and is replaced with "vos sos"--pronounced "boss
sos". It is a challenge, but personally I find
learning a language a wonderful addition to travel.
Today I found out that all flights to Ushaia, the
last town in Patagonia, are booked till the end
of the month. So whether I like it or not, it
looks like I will have to bus it.
Finally, I found out from my Spanish teacher that
the expression that I use a lot at the end of my
e-mails--hasta la vista--is no longer used in
South America because of the movie "Terminator
2" in which Schwarzenegger used this phrase.
So "hasta luego"
By the way, Mar del Plata was the place where the last G8 Summit took place last November and where George Bush faced off against his latest nemesis Hugo Chavez of Venezuela.
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