Land of Stores
Trip Start
Feb 14, 2006
1
19
104
Trip End
Ongoing
Rosario,
Argentina
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
We found our hotel and got settled then went exploring. Even though it was now around noon, there was still nothing going on. This was not to change all day. We did, however, find a Chevy Rally along the river. Kind of weird going to a Chevy rally in Argentina. They have a lot of the same things that our car rallys have, including the Calvin pissing on the Ford symbol stickers. There were some fantastic cars there, but there were also some that look more appropriate in somebody's front yard with plants growing out of them. The best part about the show was this rock band that was playing. I didn't know what they were saying but they ROCKED... They don't make bands like these guys much any more.
Rosario is a very nice city with great parks and amazing buildings. It's probably best known for being where Che Gueverra was born. It should be known as the place where there are a million stores and a million people shopping at all hours of the day.. but no body seems to have to work. We looked for anyone working in some place other than a store and were hard pressed to find them.
I went to get my hair cut and struck up a caveman Spanish conversation with my barber, who,incidently , had a terrible haircut. He was a cool cat though, and he told me a few interesting things. First off, I am NOT going bald. It's just that I have a weird cow lick on top of my noggin... Thanks dude.. good to know. Second, he told me that he was 28 and that he had three kids, and the oldest one is nine. No big deal right? Until he tells me that his wife is 23. I asked him to explain to me how the hell that works, and he told me that he knocked her up when he was 19 and she was 13. He went on to explain that this is not really that uncommon in Argentina. I can believe it actually, because it seems that every heterosexual couple over the age of seven is making out at all times in every public space imaginable. They are not exactly making out per se, it's more like a Saturday Night Live skit of people making out. With tongues flailing and what have you. I admire their passion, but why can't you just go in the basement and "watch a movie" like everyone else?
We left Rosario for Buenos Aires and rolled through country that looked a lot like the mid west for about four hours. That was where the similarities ended. I'll tell you about BA shortly.
