Feliz Año Nuevo Chino, from Buenos Aires and Uruguay (again???!!!)

Buenos Aires has been a good launching pad to places like Uruguay and the rest of Argentina, so I got to know the city quite well since I arrived on December 26th.

A good friend and former colleague of mine, Dana, wanted to meet up with me in Buenos Aires to do some travelling around for a bit. When she had written to me prior to arrival she mentioned she would be checking into the Sheraton Buenos Aires for one night, since she was not keen on the idea of staying in a hostel with ten million other roommates after 18.5 hours of international travel. She asked me if I wanted to stay in her room and I think I spent about negative 10 milliseconds to take her up on the offer!

We spent a couple nights in Buenos Aires, including an evening in Chinatown for Chinese New Years. Dana and I went to a Chinese restaurant and saw that it was run by Chinese people so I figured it was a safe bet. When the Chinese lady approached me, I asked her if she spoke Cantonese (in Cantonese, of course.) She said no (she spoke Mandarin...) and so I asked her if she spoke English (so that Dana could order on her own, perhaps...) She said no, so naturally, we spoke Spanish instead. I thought it was a bit surreal, to be speaking Spanish to an old Chinese lady, in a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown, in Buenos Aires!

I noticed over the past month travelling in and out of Buenos Aires is that there will be random guys just standing around yelling, "Cambio, cambio, cambio.." Which translates to "Change" for those who may need to convert their foreign currency. At first it wasn't really that interesting to notice. But after awhile, I just couldn't help but laugh everytime I heard a guy saying this. I mean, all they do, the entire freakin day, is say, "Cambio, cambio....." over and over and over and OVER again. If you thought your job was boring... I mean, why not just hang a sign over your shirt, or wear a big hat with "cambio" on it??!!

Speaking of money, I honestly think coins in Argentina are practically impossible to find. Getting change back is an act of god, and cashiers all over Argentina are unapologetically ruthless about demanding exact change when paying for anything. On several occasions, I did not have the exact change and they would just round down to the nearest peso! And it´s not just exact change they´re crazy about-- getting change back for a 100 peso note ($29) is also impossible for anything less than 50 pesos. I can't tell you how many times I was practically dying of thirst and was not able to buy a bottle of water at a convenience store. If only the cambio guys would offer not just foreign currency exchange, but also domestic currency exchange. They would make a killing!

We travelled back to Uruguay again given that I really wanted to go back to Cabo Polonio and Punta Del Este. It wasn´t hard to convince Dana, who was looking forward to some beach time. Unfortunately, the weather was absolute crap and we decided to head out to Mendoza to get some Malbec (my favorite wine) into my bloodstream. We did meet some pretty cool people in Punta, including a French girl who had been travelling since she was 18-- she´s now 25!

On the bus ride out of Punta, a Shakira look-alike with tight black pants practically painted on hopped on the bus, but all the seats were taken. Instead of standing in the aisle, as most people do, she decided to stand right in front of me where I was seated. Her butt was right in front of me, just staring at me, mocking me perhaps. I think I even heard her butt talk to me. "Hola, Daniel, ¿cómo estás?" Had I sneezed, I would have probably lost myself (happily) in butt heaven and would never see the light of day again. I whispered to Dana that I wanted to be friends with her two friendly cheeks, but couldn't really come up with the right words. I mean, what do you say to a butt for the first time you meet? Dana suggested I just give her a little slap and say something like..."Atta girl!!" If only I knew how to say "atta" in Spanish...

I flew out to Santiago, Chile to hop on a bus to Mendoza, Argentina. I had to pay 63 pesos ($18) as a departure tax, "Thanks for visiting, jackass! Smack to the face!" and upon arriving into Chile, had to cough up another $113 bucks, "Welcome to Chile! Here's a kick in the nuts for ya!" One quick note to mention, on my flight to Santiago, I sat next to a porteña (woman from Buenos Aires) who confirmed my observations wholeheartedly that the people of BA absolutely do not have a clue how to walk!

Anyway, I know I´m really behind with the pics, but my camera´s memory card recently got infected with a virus...so please be patient. And no, fellas, I did not get the chance to take a picture of Shakira´s butt!!

Planet Earthing in Iguazú and El Calafate

It was tough to peel myself away from the thong-clad babes on the beaches of Uruguay but, alas, I decided to get back to nature and to check out the waterfalls of Iguazú and the glaciers of Patagonia.

I took an overnight bus to Iguazú Falls, about a 16 hour bus ride from Buenos Aires. The bus station in Buenos Aires is pretty incredible-- filled with hundreds of different bus companies going to all different parts of South America. The buses are nothing like Greyhound, as there are buses that have seats that lie completely flat! Some even have your own little suite! During this bus ride, I read Randy Pausch's "Last Lecture," and I highly recommend it. I usually steer clear of all those books that remind us to live in the moment, as if each day was your last because they tend to preach, rather than demonstrate. After reading it, I had to ask, what would I do if I had 6 months left to live? The answer is that I would be doing the exact same thing I am doing right now. (Granted, I'd probably sell everything I had so that I wouldn't really be on a budget!)

The waterfalls of Iguazú were pretty overwhelming. I've been to Niagara Falls, and it's something quite different here. There is an extensive walkway around the waterfalls, and the most dramatic point is The Devils Throat, where you can practically walk right over the waterfall. The only thing separating you from plunging 80 odd meters to a nice death bath is a waist high railing! This would never exist in America...

One thing I've noticed about the people of Argentina is that they sure do like their beef. One late morning around 11am I went to grab a late breakfast near the hostel. A slender woman in her 20's sat next to me and ordered a 12oz bone-in ribeye, a large beer, and a salad. She polished it off with no problema whatsoever! I felt a little inadequate with my one banana pancake and a little shot of espresso...

After three days in Iguazú, (which was overkill actually) I flew out to El Calafate, in the southern part of Argentina, to check out Patagonia. Specifically, I went to see the Moreno Glacier and Torres Del Paine. Words cannot really describe the beauty of the place, and will let the pictures (when I upload them, of course)do the talking.

The highlight of my time in El Calafate actually came when I flew out of the airport. The pilot announced in Spanish upon takeoff that he had some bad news. He stated that since it was such a beautiful day, there would be a delay getting back into Buenos Aires because he had to make a roundabout over the Moreno Glacier!! From high up on a plane, he made a couple circles over the glacier I had visited the day before and snapped away from my window seat-- all for free!

A subtle word about walking, ladies and gentlemen

I have been doing A LOT of walking over the past eight months through 21 countries, so suffice it to say that I have seen enough to warrant its own post. I have done so much walking, in fact, that one of my shoes almost blew up: http://danielstriparoundtheworld.blogspot.com/2008/10/hamburgers-in-hamburg-and-chasing-down.html

So what I'm about to say does not really pertain to one country (though being in Argentina has certainly inspired me) but I have to say that everybody in this world should be required to take a walking license. Allow me to describe the various knucklehead walkers out there so that you can walk with a little bit of grace and dignity as you backpack through your next destination, as well as maybe teach a few of you offenders out there....

"The Flat Tire" If you were driving on the road and you suddenly got a flat tire, would you slam on the brakes and just stay parked there? NO!! You should slowly veer off to the right shoulder until you come to a safe stop to avoid anybody from crashing into you from behind. Why can't you apply the same rules when you walk??!!

"The Six Pack" It is said that this form of walking originated on the streets of Buenos Aires. They built sidewalks to allow people to walk in both directions, people. What kind of wolf pack behavior are you trying to display? Two by two, maybe three at most is adequate on a sidewalk. Any more than that and the gloves are off.

"The Dilly Dallyer" I really don't have a problem with you. In fact, I dilly dally quite often myself when I am discovering a new city. Just don't dilly dally between me and a "Six Pack," there's bound to be some collateral damage and it's usually the innocent bystander, err, Dilly Dallyer, who gets knocked down.

"The Chicken" Aptly named not for its resemblance to the actual chicken, but its propensity to engage in the game of chicken. I normally don't care for such mindless headgames when walking or dilly dallying but if I have an 18kg backpack on me, that makes it pretty difficult for me to be spry and nimble. I am going straight whether you like it or not, and that means you too, grandma. (Editorial note: if you lived in Hong Kong, you would understand. And no, I haven't knocked a grandma down....Yet!)

"The Cha Cha Cha-er" I take a step RIGHT to avoid you (because the rules of the road apply here, remember?) and what do you do? You take a step LEFT, which means I have to stop my nimble self, change directions, and take a step LEFT to compensate for your erroneous knucklehead walking ways. So, what do you do as a token of your appreciation for me? You take a step RIGHT! Look, I'm not here to dance with you. If you insist on dancing while walking, try the Moonwalk, the Running Man, or the Electric Slide.

"The Inseparable Couple" Similar to the Six Pack, except worse because they have 10 fingers interlaced together in a Vulcan death grip. Look, I know you two are madly in love and I'm happy for you. BUT... letting go of each others hands for just one second will not mean the end of the world. Rather, it means I can pass you two without having to plow through some stupid makeshift human finish line.

"The Shover" I realize my backpack is big and yes, sometimes I feel like a cross between The Hunchback of Notre Dame and a human-sized turtle. I do my best to avoid knocking over things and people, especially young kids. But if you walk in my blindspot (remember the rules of the road?) you're bound to get hit. If this happens, do not overreact and push my backpack aside. I am extremely top heavy, so the slightest nudge can send me tumbling out onto the street. As inanimate as my backpack may seem to you, it just so happens to be attached to a human being named Daniel. Daniel doesn't like to get pushed around. In fact, Daniel just wants to find his hostel.

"Mary freakin Poppins" I don't know, maybe when you were a kid in school you got picked on for having the smallest umbrella. Maybe you still feel a little inadequate about that and decided to overcompensate by pulling out your SUV-sized Hawaiian Tropic beach umbrella everytime it sprinkles. Heck, maybe you think one day a huge breeze will pick you up and launch you above the masses and the frustration of walking with so many knuckleheads around us. Admirable as that may be, it won't happen my friend. What DOES happen is that anybody who isn't wearing a hockey mask will get gouged in the face and you, ignorant Mary, will be oblivious to it all.

"The Blind Drunk" Just as I would avoid a swerving car on the freeway, so too, a swerving person on the sidewalk. Thank you for not driving.

"The Window Shopper" Wow, that 70% off sale got your attention, eh? Do me a favor, stop and go inside! What a novel idea!! Do not keep walking like a cracked out zombie with your rubber neck craned away from oncoming traffic. Somebody, including yours truly, just may have narrowly avoided an accident with a Six Pack or just finished doing the Cha Cha with another idiot. I may not see you in time so don't glare at me like I just crashed into you on purpose. But in a mean kinda way, I am glad I did.

"The Tour Group" The mother of all nightmares, the worst of them all. The Tour Group typically includes some, if not all, of the aforementioned idiots coming at you like a Mongolian horde. I myself barely survived two occasions and luckily lived to see another day. I do not wish this upon anybody and encourage you to avoid them at all costs.

Happy walking, everybody!

Beach hopping in Uruguay!

I had no real expectations going into Uruguay except that I knew there was a relatively chichi beach resort called Punta Del Este. Apparently, it is where all the rich and beautiful people from South America hang out during the summer. Brasil gets all the acclaim for thong-clad beauties, but I have to say, Uruguay is a very close second!

So anyway, on to my adventures....

One day, I went to a fruteria (fruit stand) to buy an apple. Mind you, I learned the majority of my Spanish in Spain, not Argentina and certainly not Uruguay. There are several words that are different. For example, "conducir" and "manejar" both mean "to drive" but it depends on which country you are in. "Coger" means to pick something up or to choose, at least it does so in Spain. "Coger" in Argentina/Uruguay, however, means, well... umm... to screw! I did not know this when I asked the nice old lady at the fruit stand: "¿Puedo coger esta manzana?" (Can I choose this apple?) She looked at me kinda funny...I looked at her kinda funny back, gave her my money and left. She must have thought I was some perverted sicko.

One night, I went out with some friends and we walked past a table of four extremely attractive women hanging about inside a bar. I waved to them, not really expecting anything, but they waved back as well. I just kept walking, because, well, Andreas (Germany) and I were on our way to a club. I stopped, thought better, and decided to go back and perhaps chat them up, maybe see if they would want to join us. As I walked back towards them, one of the girls literally jumped out of her seat and ran towards me, like they do in the movies. I thought to myself,¨"Damn, I knew I was good, but I didn´t know I was THAT good!" So I kinda played Joe Cool and walked in, figuring I´d get some sort of "interesting" introduction to this girl running out towards me. Well lo and behold, she just ran right past me, and put a cell phone to her ear! Crash and burrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrn!!! It's ok, luckily enough, my healthy ego is still intact. Cause I'm good enough, I'm smart enough and gosh darn it people like me.

Given Punta's cost and uppity nose factor, I decided to explore the coastline a bit outside of ritzy Punta Del Este. I was glad I met a couple, Andreas (Germany) and Irena (Norway/Croatia) from the hostel who wanted to do the same. We rented a car and headed to Pedrera/La Paloma where we decided to spend the night lying on the beach, which was the first time I had ever actually done that overnight.

We went to Cabo Polonio the next day, which I wholeheartedly recommend as a must go for anyone! It's a totally secluded beach, accessible only via this Mad-Max type 4WD monster van that plows through a natural reserve for about 6 kilometers, opening up to the beach. Once you see the pictures, you´ll see how breathtaking it is. The whole beach is literally off the grid-- no electricity, no real plumbing. Just you and nature. In fact, walking around the place, I noticed it´s really just a bunch of hippies living in beach shacks. It is a very sloooow pace of life here. Case in point. One morning, Andreas, Irena and I walked up to a restaurant to order some breakfast. There were four people working, one was eating, one was cooking, one was squeezing mayo in the bottle, and the last one was putting some food away. The one putting the food away walked right past me, even though I said, "Hola, ¿qué tal?" I looked at the one eating and she kinda waved at me, while she finished her breakfast. Fair enough, I suppose. She then took another minute or so to finish her food, then washed her hands, and then I thought, perfect, she´ll come right over and take our order! But nope, she went over to the mayo lady, apparently to check in to see how her mayo squeezing was coming along. Finally, she came up to us, and asked us how we were doing, as if we hadn't been standing there for five minutes already! Despite this experience though, I´d STILL go back to Cabo Polonio, it was by far the best beach area I saw in Uruguay.

The following day, we beach hopped over to Punta Del Diablo, probably the farthest and most northeasternly beach area of Uruguay worth visiting. Unfortunately, being in January and peak season, we had a difficult time finding a place. Finally, after half a day of searching and knocking on random doors asking for a place to sleep, I came upon a place that was still under construction. The guy was literally nailing the bed together. I thought, well, at least this place is new. Irena and Andreas didn´t really think it was that great. I suppose a bed made out of straw doesn't really tickle their fancy. I kept telling them that it was nicer than the mud huts of Ghana, but that didn´t really help. Especially when the rain (yes, what luck!) started dripping onto their bed throughout the entire night! Agreed, maybe it wasn´t nicer than the mud huts of Ghana. But it had electricity and a hot shower!!!

It was nice to see have rented a car to see almost all the major beach towns in Uruguay. It was extremely relaxing, and breathtaking at times. At the same time, though, after such an enlightening experience in Ghana with the everyday responsibility (and privilege) of something like teaching young kids English and math, I felt a bit empty at times. Well, perhaps empty isn't the right word. Rudderless, more like. No wait, a Third World hangover. Yet, I suppose coming to Uruguay and enjoying my time by doing absolutely nothing but lay on the beach and enjoy a beer or three reminds me yet again to appreciate everything I have.

Don´t cry for me Argentina, it´s a Happy New Year!!!

Leaving Ghana, my friends, my students, and my village behind was probably one of the most difficult goodbyes I've had to deal with so far on this trip. Again, the idea of staying just for a little longer came up but again got trumped by my desire to keep moving on.

I flew out to London on Christmas Day for a 15-hour layover and decided to meet up with another old friend from Hong Kong whom I haven't seen in over 16 years, Mo Butt. It was quite a culture shock to take a hot shower, use a flushing toilet, as well as having my laundry done with a (gasp) laundry machine! After three weeks in dusty Ghana, my clothes needed a good wash.

It was good to see Mo again after all these years. We exchanged stories about life back then, and what we´ve been up to since then. Mo actually told me a story about us that I don´t really remember (surprise, surprise.) One night, we were out in Lan Kwai Fong and I was standing outside of a bar with Mo. Two tourists approached me and asked me how much the cover charge was to enter. Mind you, I was 16 years old at the time, so my propensity to do things like tell these two tourists that it was $12.50 each (100 HKD) to enter an otherwise-free-for-everybody-else bar was not out of my domain. I apparently took the 200 HKD and took off! I kind of feel bad about that, so if you two guys are reading my blog, send me an email and I´ll pay you back.

I arrived into Buenos Aires and got the chance to see another old friend of mine from Hong Kong, David Frankenberg (thank you Facebook!) We met up at his sister´s birthday party that night, and had a blast catching up. He's still the same sarcastic, funny guy I still remember back then.

Prior to arriving into Argentina, I thought it would be a great idea to learn how to tango. I mean, as the winner of the best dancer award back in the 8th grade (ok, Al Bundy) I figured it´d be no problem. I met Natalia from Ireland at the hostel who was heading to a tango club one night, so I thought it was a perfect opportunity to learn. Well, I don´t know if it was because I was jet lagged, or if it was because of wine o´clock, but I somehow managed to pass out at the tango club. Needless to say, that didn´t impress Natalia much, again emphasizing the cliché that it really does take two to tango.

I also met up with Sarah (Canada) whom I met in Norway so we decided to travel a bit together and check out Uruguay as well. I'm absolutely convinced Sarah is either a) training for the Canadian walkathon b) on crack or c) both. I walked so much with her I got sore the next day! I must be getting old...

Anyway, some quick observations about Buenos Aires:

1) They really don't know/care how to walk properly. Somehow walking 6-aside on a narrow sidewalk is perfectly acceptable. Somehow, my 18kg backpack found its way to smack a few of them in the face.
2) Check your bill and change carefully, here, you stupid tourist. They tried to rip me off a few times. I was at a hamburger joint with the menu plainly and clearly in view, yet the waiter tried to charge me extra! Another time, I ordered a beer for 15 pesos (about $4.40) but was given a bill for 20 pesos!
3) Everybody will greet each other with a kiss on the cheek. Including guys. As somebody who studied abroad in Spain, I was used to kissing women on the cheek, but, umm.... guys??? Lo siento, man.
4) Going out at 2am is EARLY.
5) Beef is super cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeap. At most places it is cheaper to eat steak than to get a pizza!! In fact, I even bought a medium sized bag of Doritos at a supermarket for $1.43. The ribeye steak was only 40 cents more!!!

Given the New Year, I suppose it is a time for making resolutions. I actually broke a previous New Years resolutions to never make one again by agreeing to do 100 pushups and 100 situps a day with some friends back home in LA, so we´ll see how long that lasts. I think I may have also said something else about staying sober for at least 24 hours, but I don't really remember making that resolution.... I was drunk!