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.

Last Night & 2 Pints

Posted for September 8, 2009
I went to eat at Mama’s Fish House in the city of Paia. It’s about an hour drive from Kaanapali/Lahaina. I ordered their special dish of the day: Moi Moi with mangoes, lychee, and vegetables in a black bean sauce. It was fantastic! After enjoying my meal I headed to Guri Guri in the Maui Mall. Guri Guri is a little shop that sells snacks and 2 flavors of their homemade frozen treat. With only 2 choices, I ordered a scoop of each – strawberry and pineapple. I killed both scoops of the Ice Cream/Shave Ice mixture and purchased 2 pints right after to bring back at the hotel to share with my family. I hung out pool side at the hotel. When in Maui, one must get this! Cost for the two scoops - $1.10.


With my last night in Maui, my family and I wanted to take it easy. We stayed at the hotel and had dinner at their restaurant - Ono - similar to what we did on the first night. The restaurant is situated in a large open outdoor area that faces the pool and ocean

Looking in from the other side

Posted for September 7, 2009
For an early lunch, I went off on my own and took the free shuttle to Front Street in Lahaina. Recommended by a friend of mine, Cheeseburger in Paradise is located seaside. I was seated faced in front of the ocean and ordered their original cheeseburger with bacon, a side of seasoned fries, and a tall beer with a souvenir glass. It was delish! After Cheeseburger in Paradise, I went to the gelato shop next door and ordered a scoop of the Big Island Mac Nut Crunch. I enjoyed it on a sidewalk bench facing the ocean. Feeling the food comatose after the Gelato, I headed back to the hotel and took a nap.

After my two hour nap, I meet up with my family at the pool. We were trying to decide what to eat for dinner prior. My brother in-law suggested BBQ. We agreed. We had dinner at 7 pm at Smokehouse BBQ Bar & Grill located kitty corner to Front Street. The food was great. We asked the server why people liked Mixed Plate and threw in that their food was so much better than Mixed Plate. He explained that the view and quantity is what tourists like – for the price. The exact reasoning I had conjured up earlier. When in Maui, I recommend going to this joint rather than to Mixed Plate. He then went off on talking about Maui, The Tourists, and the Locals.
In summary:

1. Tourist don’t know how to drive
a) They tend to cause most of the traffic accidents from looking at the sites rather then driving.
b) They drive to fast not thinking they’re streets are freeways
2. Economy hits them late
3. Filipinos run Hawaii (the service industry is mostly employed by Filipinos)
4. 90% of Filipinos in Hawaii are Ilocano
5. People will ask if you Ilocano rather than if are you Filipino
6. Hawaiians thought Ilocano was the country rather than the Philippines
7. Filipinos are more hard working that the Haoles
8. Japan won the war with complete ownership of all the resort prior to selling them off