SOUTH AMERICA BLOG 2
Tuesday Feb 1, 2011
Oh boy! We’ve only been a South America for 36 hours – but it feels like we’ve been here a week already!
Our 11-hour flight from Auckland to Santiago (Chile) – backwards through the time-zones – was uneventful. Sleep eluded many of our campers, but I (John) managed to get a nice, long, uninterrupted 15 minutes (yawn)! We sat around for 3 hours in Santiago Airport, then took off again over the snow-capped Andes to Buenos Aires (Argentina) on the opposite coast – arriving just an hour after we left Auckland, still on the same day! (Go figure …)
Our Midlife Madness Welcome Dinner last night – at the Cabana Las Silas Restaurant – introduced us to Angus steaks the size of houses. And some of our group (who shall remain nameless) ordered more of the same again tonight – at the La Esquina De Carlos Gardel, where we were treated to a 1950s-style tango show and banquet.
But wait, I’m getting ahead of myself …
We spent today falling in love with Buenos Aires (population: a mere 13 million), its wide, shady boulevards lined with palatial mansions, boutiques and animated cafes. Our city tour included the Plaza de Mayo (centre of the city’s political and historical life) and the sculpture-packed Recoleta Cemetery (where Eva “Evita” Peron is buried) – with a Spanish-flavoured lunch-stop in the colourful, arty La Boca District, where sensuous sounds of the tango filled the air.
It’s well after midnight now, and we’ve just arrived back at our hotel after that tango show I mentioned earlier. How good was it? Well, let’s just say FABULOUS, WORLD-CLASS and TOTALLY WOW! Which isn’t surprising, I guess, given that right here on these streets is where the tango was originally born.
PEOPLE NEWS: Some early Midlife Madness Awards have been earned by the following (who are all required to wear silly rubber noses for the next 24 hours as punishment) …
- Edgar received the ‘Got My Bum But Not My Bum-Bag’ Award – for leaving his money-belt behind in the Marlborough Lounge at Auckland Airport. (Don’t worry: it found its way back to Edgar before we went airborne.)
- Barbara was nominated for the ‘She’d Lose Her Head If It Wasn’t Screwed On’ Award – for getting permanently separated from her passport at Buenos Aires Airport. (Barbara and the writer spent the morning in numerous taxis, various Spanish-speaking police stations, and the New Zealand Embassy sorting it out. And guess who the ever-so-helpful young lady at the Embassy turned out to be? Angela – John Cooney’s long-lost second cousin! No kidding! You could’ve knocked John over with a feather …)
- Renton & Irene were granted the ‘Sleeping Beauties’ Award – for failing to emerge from their beds and bedrooms until 10:10 this morning (10 minutes after the group was due to go sightseeing).
- And Peter takes home the ‘How Come No One Looks Familiar?’ Award – for blissfully clambering aboard the wrong bus after tonight’s show. (To be fair, it was late – and the buses all looked the same. Okay, they were different colours. But they were all big. And they all had wheels …)
TOMORROW: We fly north, to the rainforest mountains of Argentina and Brazil, where we plan to get up-close-and-wet with the world-famous, jaw-dropping Iguazu Falls … so don’t change channels!
Yours bloggedly – JOHN
P.S. If you want to leave a message for someone in our Mad Midlife group, just click on ‘COMMENTS’ (or ‘NO COMMENTS’) beside the title for the day’s blog, and type away! Make sure you say who it’s for and who it’s from – and keep it brief. And if you want a better look at our map and photos, just click on them and they’ll enlarge – magic!
Ola, Robyn and John!
Sounds as if you are taking Buenos Aires by storm! And why not – enjoy every moment. We loved the photo of you, John, and your Tango instructress!! So you will be giving Tango lessons when you return??!
We will be following your trip closely – your blogs make a great read, but not as fantastic as being there with you, unfortunately. Maybe another day we will.
Love to you both
Pauline and Steve Pedersen
Hi guys. I’m just hoping that this “She would lose her head Barbara” isnt the same one my kids call Granny! At least it all sorted itself out eventually. Anyway hey you guys are having a blast. Take care. regards David
Hi John & Robyn,
Shoulders back and leg a bit higher John—8 out of 10!!
Safe travels, we leave for Laos & Vietnam tomorrow.
Rodger Grant
Hi J & R. What an amazingly small world it is bumping into your 2nd cuz at the embassy!! Hey guys, the blog’s interesting & we are missing you heaps already. Love from Adrian & Val
Hi lovely Robyn and John. Just wanted to say a big hello!! Also that your pool has collapsed, your house caught fire and the garden savaged by a plague of praying mantis (come home!)
– Hey all is well! Have a wonderful wonderful time 🙂
xx
Ruth and Tim
Hi Jackie & Peter; John Sealy; Ann & Gillian
It sounds as if you are having a MLM happy time. Wonderful pictures – didn’t see any of you tango-ing! But well done Robyn and John C. Our elections are to be 26 November. The Pakistan cricketers have the better of us with 3 out of 4 wins in the ODI series.
Was that you Peter who tried a different bus – Caith just tried to join in with a group of Japanese last trip.
Love to all – Claire & Caith
Where’s the photo of Robyn with her tango partner? Eh!!!
Aw Edgar ! – first Blog and you get an award !!
We’re keeping a watch on you two – so no tango-ing or especially no limbo-ing !!