"Andar sin hablar mucho"

Today dawned chilly and very windy, and was our last full day in la capital. We woke up and made some coffee, watched some cartoons (en español, of course), then Pauli and I made some mate tea. Strong but refreshing! As I took off for a short run, Pauli cooked the girls a breakfast of hard-boiled eggs and tuna (using up what's left in the fridge) and began packing our suitcases for the drive across the country.

Since we leave tomorrow, it seemed prudent to post a few pictures of the apartment we have called home for the past two weeks.

The living room:

The bedrooms:

The huge kitchen (and yes, that is the washer in the back right corner and our clothes hanging up to dry above the sink; that's how it works here in Argentina!):

And, well, that's it!

After a relaxing morning, we decided we would head out to do three errands:

1) Find a place to change dollars (from our apartment security deposit) to pesos before traveling tomorrow. This has become increasingly important, as only about 50% of merchants--including restaurants--accept credit cards. Not sure why the plastic "fad" hasn't caught on here like it has in, well, the rest of the world. But oh well, c'est la vie. Plus, given the precipitous decline in the local currency's value due to Argentina's rampant inflation, changing dollars to pesos from sketchy guys on the street garners a way better exchange rate than the official one utilized by banks.

2) Buy a couple inexpensive baby dolls for Isabel and Gemma as gifts/entertainment for our long car ride. Like most parents, we'll do what we can to mediate screaming toddlers on a cross-country car trip. A $10 plastic baby doll seems well worth it, without giving in to consumerism and material wants. Wait...am I sounding like an actual parent? How can this be???

3) Have lunch. Simple, satisfying.

Of course, before we could accomplish these three errands, we needed a café con leche and 3 medialunas. We found a nice little spot, and upon leaving congratulated ourselves for not going next door instead. Why? It was called the "Gout Café". Not very appealing, is it?

After our quick caffeine pick-me-up, we successfully accomplished our three errands. First, an older but well-dressed guy at the back end of a dimly-lit shopping street announced "cambio" (change) in a low voice as we passed by. He said he would be around tomorrow when we needed to change our $400 security deposit to pesos after checking out, but in the meantime we should "andar sin hablar mucho" (go on our way without talking about this a lot). This is obviously an under-the-table gig. So please don't tell him that I am writing this on a nationally-syndicated blog being read by at least 4 or 5 other people, most of whom surprisingly look a lot like, well, either Pauli or Drew Catanese, though approximately one generation older.

We then found some inexpensive dolls, which we stealthily purchased, and ate lunch in a great but tiny restaurant along our street called La Querencia ("The Beloved"), which speacializes in local cuisine of the Pampas in southern Argentina. We had lentil soup, ravioli, and empanadas. Delicious! Notice the Argentina flag adornments in the photo:

The only strange thing was the sign on the door to leave:

"Tire y Empuje." Pull and Push. A bit contradictory...

On the way home, we passed this Starbucks billboard along the street:

Even at Starbucks they offer café con leche with a medialuna...$4. Wish you could get that in the States!

Following some afternoon rest, we ventured out for a few last-minute grocery items before our trip (box of Kleenex, mints, gum, etc.). Then back to our apartment for our last supper, a delightful meal of a freshly-baked baguette from a bakery and cheese, topped with membrillo, a firm jam-like spread. Dulce de leche on cookies for dessert!

After putting the girls to bed, Pauli and I did some packing and organizing, and then sat down to enjoy a bottle of vino tinto from Patagonia in southern Argentina. 

Okay, time for a quick wine-inspired geography lesson!

This time of year (the middle of winter down here), while where we are in Buenos Aires daytime highs hover around 50 degrees, in Patagonia they are in full-fledged glacier-like "brrrrrrrr" winter. The wine we are drinking is a Malbec from the Rio Negro area of Patagonia, located many hours drive from here on the 39th parallel south. 

Interestingly, the Southern Hemisphere is much, much colder than the Northern Hemisphere, with far fewer inhabitants. There are actually no settlements at all below 60 degrees south due to the inhospitable nature of the land. (By comparison, at 60 degrees NORTH latitude you will find such cities as Oslo, Norway; Helsinki, Finland; and Saint Petersburg; above this parallel also holds northern Scotland, half of Canada, Greenland, most of Russia, and virtually all of Alaska.) 

Returning to the 39th parallel south--where our wine comes from--there can be summer highs up to about 70 or so, while in wintertime you literally need 4-wheel-drive vehicles to traverse the snow drifts. But swing up to an "opposite" latitude at 39 degrees north, and you have Reno, Nevada; Naples, Italy; and the sun-drenched island of Ibiza, Spain. Hardly considered cold-weather climates! In fact, the 39th parallel north also runs through Morocco, Iraq, India, and Southern Greece. Again, hardly known for being frigid locations!

Suffice it to say that our little bottle of Malbec from Patagonia, where the harsh climate makes grape vines hearty and gnarled, produces quite a good bit of not-too-bad-at-all wine! Pauli and I enjoyed it immensely! Argentina is indeed quite an interesting place to travel to on vacation.