seasoned traveler

i am getting used to the airplane back and forth to argentina, but it doesn't seem to get easier. i still pack too much which doesn't make going it alone any easier. i had one big bag, and two carry on sized bags as well - and i only have two hands. it was quite the workout and balancing act getting my bags from the airport and checking them at the bus terminal, and everything in between. at the airport, i met a couple from portland who were coming to live in argentina for a year. they didn't know what to do upon leaving customs, so i teamed up with them, and we took an airport shuttle to downtown buenos. i shared with them all the advice i could think of off hand about argentina and buenos aires. we parted ways upon arriving in the capital - them going to their apartment in palermo, and i heading to retiro, the bus terminal.

 i had the entire day to kill in the big city. it was morning and i was already exhausted. i found a bench in the plaza of general san martin, and like a could argentine would do (and do do daily), i stretched out on a bench, and took a catnap right there in the middle of the park. upon waking up i walked the famous "florida street." it's solely a pedestrian street filled with people hawking leather coats and painting of tango dancers in buenos aires. now it's more or less a tourist trap, i walked the length of that, and ended up at the casa rosada, argentina's equivalent to the white house. once again i parked myself on a bench, and watched the tourists go picture crazy over the "mother's of plaza 25 de mayo." they are women (and a handful of men) that don't let the faces of their sons or daughters be forgotton. in the 80's, the diry war happened, and the military basically kidnapped anyone who they deemed a threat and they were taken to secret prisons and subsequently killed. thousands of argentines are still missing, their bodies have never been recovered. now the women mostly old, march around the center of the plaza carrying pictures of their still missing children. it was quite the sight... mostly because all tourists flocked to the ladies to take pictures much like the pigeons to the bread crumbs that the children would throw just feet away. 

gathering my energy, i walked down to the port area, called puerto madero. the marina is there, and the entire area has been remade up and made into a nice walking area. i tried to find my way to the beach front, but it turns out you can't get to the water because of the ecological reserve stands between the city and the coastal area. all that walking for nothing. i had been walking so much that knee hurt so much i had to change the way i walked. i am not known for using the correct shoes for walking...ever. a half hour later i hobbled my way back to the bus terminal, and watched a movie and charged my laptop until the head cleaning lady got really mad. i tried to pretend i didn't understand. unfortunately it was extremely obvious what she was saying. i couldn't figure out why she got so upset, was i sucking the power of the entire bus terminal through my laptop? hmmm

finally i boarded the bus, and slept through the night, and awoke to find myself back in resistencia, chaco, argentina.