Trip it Tuesday Episode 5: Hole in the Wall

 

Buenos Aires, Argentina.  After attending a percussion party held monthly at the Konnex by La Bomba de Tiempo , one of the locals took me to this hole in the wall type of place that serves choripan.  Although I don’t have picture of the sandwich, I do remember it being really good.  There are not seats inside – just a small kitchen and 2 ladies working.  Looking back at my previous blogs, this picture is a repost from September 2009.

Dinner and Kings

Posted for September 15, 2009
We got back to the hostel at about 7. After refreshing ourselves, we met up at the lounge area for dinner at 8. One of the guys suggested an all you can eat Parilla Restaurant. With 7 of us attending dinner we split up in two groups and hopped in 2 cabs. Written on a torn piece of paper, we handed the address to the cab driver that was given to us by one of the guys. When we got to the restaurant, we asked for a table to seat 7 while we waited for the other group to arrive. 10 min had passed and the other group had not yet arrived. The host went ahead and seated us. We sat down at our table and contemplated if we were in the right place. Both cabs had left at the same time but split up during the driver over. We then checked the address written on the torn piece of paper and notice two different addresses written on it - one on each side. We concluded the other group must have gone to the other restaurant so we decided to stay and eat. After dinner we walked around the marina a bit then headed back to the hostel.

We got back to the hostel and saw the other group. After a brief exchange in stories, we all joined a group that had started a game of Kings. 2 Decks and an epic game that made everyone stumble off their seats.

With everyone including my self already wasted, 3 of us decided to hit a bar. I called it a night at 5 am.

Air Show

Posted for September 15, 2009

I got out of bed at 11 and got ready to meet up with the gang. We made plans to eat lunch, head to the Zoo, then to Uru Recoleta to pick up my jacket. Leaving he hostel at about 1:30, we headed towards the subway and ate at a pizzeria. While waiting for our pizza, I noticed an Air Show was being televised. In doing so I notice something more in detail – the Obelisco which is one block away. I then started to wonder if it was live. It was. I mentioned it to one of the guys and we both walked outside to observe if it really was taking place. We walked half a block, noticed the large amount of people in the street, looked up, and sure enough, the Air Show was taking place right above our heads. It wasn’t very spectacular, an assortment of jets that fly by but nothing special.

After we finished our pizza we headed to the subway to the Recoleta area. We trekked it through the borough and made our way to way to Uru Recoleta. After I Picked up my jacket we decided to skip out on the Zoo and took a cab to Palermo. We didn’t walk around Palermo due to time and daylight constraints, but we did manage to make our way to a little area that had a few bars and a pool hall situated next to each other. We grabbed a couple tables and had a couple beers.

Dead People, a Jacket, and an Incredible Band with a Hole in the Wall

Posted for September 14, 2009
With my passport locked up at the hostel, a feeling of relief had dawned on me. I met up with a few folks from the hostel and headed out to the Recoleta Cemetery to see Evita’s Tomb. Like the Manila Cemetery, the tombs are above ground - Mausoleums. The major difference between the Manila Cemetery and the Recoleta Cemetary is the cleanliness of the area. The Manila Cemetery is dirty with the squatters living in the area. The Recoleta Cemetery is well kept – clean streets and no one living in the cemetery.

While looking for Evita’s tomb I made a comment in which everyone laughed. I said, “I’ve been in Argentina for 3 days and what have I done; I’ve been hustled, robbed, dunk, and saw dead people. What a fantastic holiday!”

After spotting Evita’s Mausoleum, we ogled at a few other tombs as we moseyed are way out of the Cemetery. Exiting the Cemetary, we were all parched and decided to grab a beer and a snack. With daylight dwindling, I split up from the group after the beer and burger and headed to Uru Recoleta – a leather store that Samantha Brown had featured in her Television Show. They were located just around the corner from where we were resting. I spent about an hour on designing my leather jacket then headed back to the hostel.


I met up with the group back at the hostel. We decided to skip out on dinner plans we had arranged the previous night to attend a Bomba Band Event. The event tuned out to be the best concert experience I’ve ever witnessed – and I was sober. To describe the event doesn’t serve justice and is one of those “got to be there.”
Basically it’s a percussion band with a conductor. The conductor instructs the band to play certain beats and rhythms, and like a DJ he’ll cut portions of the song and instruct specific groups to play segmented loops. The build up in tone, beat, harmony, and syncopation energizes the crowd to a point where a mash pit is created. Part of the build up included separate introductions to the Bass Guitar and Electric Guitar during the middle of the sets. Similar to a Rave, the event is held in a warehouse.


After the event we stopped by a hole in the wall and grabbed a yummy Choripan. When we got back to the Hostel, I shared a bottle of Vodka that I had picked on the way home from Uru Recoleta.

Officially Day 1 in Argentina

Posted for September 12, 2009
I got up at 3pm hung over and hungry. I walked around downtown to get a better feel of the area and looked for a bite to eat. I had a Churipan (chorizo sandwich with chimichurri) – which was awesome – on one of the main streets then enjoyed an espresso in an outdoor seating café. When I got back to the hostel I met up with the folks I hung out with last night. We walked by the marina and had dinner. We ordered appetizers, 4 different meats, 3 sides, 2 bottles of wine, and desert. The total cost between the 3 of us: $35 US dollars….each.
Following dinner, the guys wanted to try to catch a college football game, but that was pretty much impossible. The only sports televised are Boxing, Tennis, and Futbol (soccer).

Walking around with no luck of catching a college game, we headed back to the hostel. We got back at about 1:30am in which I then began to contemplate whether to attend a house party I was invited to. During the pub crawl the other night, I held a conversation with one of the hosts in which he invited me to attend his birthday house party. With the other 2 guys calling it a night, I decided to hang out at the hostel instead. I thought that going to a house party alone in a city which I have no knowledge of, would be risky.

While hanging out at the bar in the hostel, I met some people: a couple South African folks attending a Mining Exploration Conference for their Geological Engineering program, a couple Australian folks, and a Brit. After a few drinks we all headed to the sister hostel located a few blocks away - Hostel Florida. The Hostel had a basement area which had a pool hall feel. 3 pool tables, a long larger bar, and a dance floor with a DJ spinning Reggaeton. We hung out for bit then headed back to our hostel. After another round of drinks and a couple games of pool at our Hostel, we ended the evening/morning at about 4am.

Temporary Passport Obtained

With the BS that happened yesterday, I stayed in the Hostel last night and drank with a few folks. The Hostel had a live band playing in the lounge area with free empenadas.

I got up at this morning at 8 am, had breakfast, and headed for the Embassy. It was a fairly an easy process: 2 forms to fill out and 2 passport photos. I didn´t have passport photos with me, but I was directed to go outside the embassy and to find a guy under a tree who would be able to take my photo. As soon as I got outside and crossed the street, I spotted an old man with a picnic chair sitting under a tree. He had an Old Skool camera and white butcher paper pinned on a tree. He told me to stand in from the paper, smile, then took my picture and processed the photos in a thick dark bag. He handed me my passport photos at a cost of 20 Pesos. After turning in my forms and photo, I waited half an hour and obtained my Temporary Passport valid for 3 months.

Just confused this time

Holy Craps, It happened again; this time my backpack disappears. I headed to the San Telmo Street Fair and walked in a cantina. I put my back pack down on the floor next to my feet. I reach over to the table across from me for the menu. As soon as I look down, my backpack is gone - vanished in thin air. I look around the cantina and it is no where to be found. There is only one exit out of the cantina, and still no signs of my back pack. The contents: My Passport, ASUS net book, Sanyo camera, Kodak camera, $60 USD, and the keys to my car. At least I still have my Panasonic camera and my wallet. Looks like I’ll be hanging out at the US Embassy tomorrow morning to retrieve a copy of my passport.

After filing the police report I headed back to the streets to try to enjoy the rest of my day. I ran into an artist who had some interesting paintings. I purchased one to take back home with me.

Dazed and Confused

Posted for September 11, 2009
I can’t believe the terrorist attacks happened 8 years ago. It seems like it happened decades ago but 8 years isn’t so long. With that in mind, I got hustled yesterday. Straight up ripped off.

After a long 18 hour flight, I got into Buenos Aires at 10 am. I checked into my hostel at about 1 and headed for the streets. I ate at a Parilla and had a 1.5 lb helping of steak with 2 empanadas on the side. Feeling delirious from the steak and long travel day/night, I walked along Lavalle St. - a pedestrian street filled with shops. As I walked along, there were various people handing out an assortment of pamphlets. I ignored a few and then took one for a gentleman. Feeling spaced out, he then started to talk to me and led me to bar. As soon as I sat down, 2 gals in Bikinis sat down next me and a few drinks were immediately set on my table. I responded, “Woe!!! Hey, what’s going on here?” The two gals massaged my crotch and said, “Take it easy, relax.” I immediately downed my drink that was handed to me, asked for the bill, and took off. 200 Dollars down the drain! With the exception of the overpriced connector I bought in Hong Kong, this is the first time I’ve been ripped off during my travels. I can only blame myself for walking around with my guard down. I guess the lazy kick back effects from Maui haven’t left my system. In any case, it was a wake up call and I’ve got my guard back up. Expensive lesson.

I went back to my hostel to take a nap after that incident happened. Feeling refreshed and my guard back up in full force, I headed for a Pub Crawl. I met a few interesting people and the lead singer of a band in one of the 4 bars that we went to. The name of the band is Laika. I forgot her name but I asked the lead singer if they were selling any CD’s. She walked over to her jacket, pulled out a CD, and handed it to me for free Dollars. AWESOME! Cute and very nice. I should have taken a picture with her!

I got back to my hostel at about 5 am with a couple folks from the pub crawl. We had a beer and conversed a bit before calling it at night. I passed out at about 5:30 am.