Tiene Tango?
Trip Start
Feb 14, 2006
1
17
104
Trip End
Ongoing
Bariloche,
Argentina
Thursday, May 4, 2006
We had to cross the border into Argentina, and this was my first taste of how things were going to be different from Chile. While Chileīs border crossing was a bit uptight, Argentinaīs was quite the opposite
Just a nice picture
. While I was waiting in line, two border officials were slap boxing behind the counter. All the while dogs slept in the corners and hit up travelers for pets and treats. Very odd... A quick glance at my passport, which shows me twenty pounds heavier and sans beard.. (oh yeah, I grew a beard) and I was good to go. "Bienviendo Argentina". We arrived in Bariloche on a Sunday afternoon. First of all.. nothing is open any afternoon due to this kick ass tradition of Siesta. But on Sunday afternoons NOTHING is open. As we had only had Chilian dough, we had to hoof it a long ways to town with our backpacks. After many unsuccessful attempts we finally found an ATM with money, but even then it only have us 100 peso notes. One thing about South America... having big bills is like having no money at all. They donīt believe in having "change". So, we decided that we needed to find a place to break a bill for us. The only place open was this bar/restaurant that was showing a Boca Juniors soccer game. Kelly and I went in and found the last two seats in the room. Picking our way through the room with those giant packs didnīt win us any friends. I also noticed that Kel was the only female in the bar. We sat down and ordered some beers and some chow. I realized right away that Argentina is markedly less expensive than Chile. A very nice surprise... Anyway our bill came at the end of the game and we gave the waitress our 100 peso note. Guess what, they couldnīt make change.. so we had to stay and drink beer until our bill was big enough to justify a 100. Not that bad of a problem to have really..
After finally paying our bill, we stumbled from Hostel to Hostel looking for a spare bed. Our persistence paid off with the best Hostel weīve stayed in so far
Some abandoned trains
. Kelly and I had to stay in different rooms but still, it was just a very friendly place with people from all over the globe. Kellyīs roommates were going out for this Swedish chickīs 21st birthday. I felt old. First of all, Iīm 31 and feeling it more and more every day. Second, Argentineīs donīt go out until at least midnight. You donīt even think about going to dinner before 10:00 PM. Most places arenīt even open... So by the time going out time rolled around, I just wanted to go to bed. I pushed through though and went out until about 4:00. This was about half time. Kelly and I went home and the rest of the crew stayed out until about 7:30 in the morning. This is the way it is in this country.The next day was the Argentine of Labor Day. So once again, nothing was open. Kelly and I spent the day walking around the lake and generally doing nothing important. Bariloche is a great place for that. Itīs a touristy town, but mainly filled with other Argentines. Itīs nestled in the mountains and has something for every season. In the winter it serves as the second largest ski area in the country. It is the kind of place I would like to call home some day. I had better learn to ski better and quit breaking things, if Iīm ever going to do that though. That evening, we went out with some people from our hostel. An American who has literally been every where in the world and this dude from Buenas Aires
The Lake in Baraloche
. We tried to go eat at a few places, but due to the holiday nothing was open. So we went to a Tango festival that the American had heard about. This was not some show for the tourists. In fact, I think we were the only tourists in attendance. We were treated to a real show. All of the most famous Tango performers and musicians get together once a year in Bariloche. Therefore, we got to see all of these award winning performers up close and personal for about $5.00. When I say up close, Iīm not kidding. My high school gym was bigger than the place this event was being held. Probably nicer too... So, we sat there for hours drinking wine and eating deer stew while watching some of the most fantastic dancing ever. The tango, done right, has to be about the iest dance in the world. It made me want to take lessons, but then I realized that I can barely ride a bike, or spell my name the same way twice. The Tango is probably a bit too complicated. Iīd better stick to the hokey pokey. After the famous people were done singing and dancing, they opened the floor up to all of the local Tango enthusiasts. It was quite a thing to see. Every age group was represented. All levels of skill on the floor at the same time. Swirling, dipping, kicking, and stepping in all different directions. Not one collision. The most impressive thing, however, was the kids. Here there were kids of 11 and 12 years old dancing the tango with authority. I kept thinking about my middle school dances, with boys on one side of the gym and s on the other. Staring at each other like Clint Eastwood and some about to die villain. We had to really work up the nerve to ask a to dance. That, or have your buddy ask her for you. If she said yes, then you would stand arms length away, with locked elbows and shift your weight from foot to foot all the while trying not to get a . Not these Argentine kids... these are some smoooooth cats. When the music came on, they were on the dance floor, no hesitation, no playing tag under the bleachers. Eyes locked and forcefully but with grace leading their braces wearing partners around like mini Fred and Gingers. It was quite impressive really.
The next morning Kelly and I did a hike up to the top of a mountain. The bus dropped us at the trail head and we started making our way up hill. As we started on the path, a dog came up to us tail wagging and so I petted him. A good idea as it turned out. This dog showed us all the way up the mountain. He was like Rin Tin Tin.. We would be looking for trail markers and the dog would just bark and lead us in the right direction. At the top of the mountain was an amazing vista of blue glacial lakes, every color of changing leaves, and forests of pine trees. Not a bad day.. that and I had a dog to pet for a little while. When we were ready to go back down, Raoul, thatīs what we named him, lead us back down the trail. We later ran into some people that knew the dog and told us his name was Ringo. Not a bad guess...
I hope every one who reads this considers visiting Patagonia. I wish that I had more time to spend there. Sadly, we needed to get on the road so a few days was all that we got. Itīs got it all... and the Argentineīs know how to live. Iīll tell you more about that in my next entry.
