Dead Man Walking....

At the time, I was thinking the man in the photo above was the first dead person I have seen in public. We just don't run across a lot of accidents on a daily basis in Texas. In a big city like this, I have a feeling it is a different story.

It all started around 11:00pm on Friday night. I was busy polishing my pictures from my hike earlier in the the day with Tom. I heard an ambulance pull up and stop right in front of our apartment. The loud siren came to a screeching halt right below us.

In this city you get used to hearing a lot of sirens. Like every few seconds. I was in my zone so it didn't click at first. Then ten minutes later, I heard another ambulance come to a screeching halt right below us. At that point, I figure I better go check it out. What if our building was on fire?

Well I went out on the balcony to see what the commotion was about. When I looked over the edge, I freaked out. Right there in front of me, right below my apartment... there it was! A DEAD BODY.

I saw the dead body flayed across the curb with blood on the sidewalk. And hovering right over him was what looked like a TV news camera crew.

I ran back inside straight to my wife with my hand over my mouth with a look of horror on my face. She said, "Oh my god what is it? Your face is white as a sheet."

I couldn't move. I kept saying, "Oh my god! Oh my god!" I finally blurted out that there was a dead body right below our apartment. "He must of been hit crossing the street!", I shouted.

We both went back out on the balcony to see what was going on. Only instead of seeing the scene you see above, with the dead body flayed on the sidewalk, the dead man was up walking around shaking hands with the "news crew" and other people standing around.

After closer examination, it was pretty clear it was not a news crew, but a film crew. They were filming a movie.

I felt like a cruel joke had been played on me. Only worse, because they spent the next four hours taking over 50 takes of the loud ambulance coming to a screeching halt right below me.

Happy Halloween.

Belgrano and Palermo Parks

Took a walk with fellow expat Tom on Friday. It was a long route with plenty of photo ops. Here are just a few of the Pics.


We started near River Plate's Stadium (Ground zero for some fútbol fans here). We then went along the river and crossed along the Jorge Newberry Airport and into the Belgrano Parks. We saw quite a bit of Wildlife.



Some younger than others...





Then we finished up in the Palermo Parks near Plaza Italia.

BA 101: Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral

Fellow Quaffer, Alan Patrick (he's actually the chairman) conducts a great walking tour of Buenos Aires. The tour hits all of the famous, must-see historical landmarks in the city center. He calls it The Buenos Aires 101 Tour. If you take just one walking tour in Buenos Aires, this is the tour.

I highly recommend Allen. He's very knowledgeable and a hell of a nice guy even though he is from Slough. If you pay him a few pesos extra he just might give you a tour of places to kill a few pints of the city's best beer. Given that BsAS is not known for beer, it would be well worth the extra plata.

Over the next couple of posts, I thought I would share with you some of the highlights of Alan's tour. This stop: Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral.


Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral is the most important church in all of Argentina. It houses the tomb of General José de San Martín (seen above). The outside of the church is nothing to write home about, but the inside is filled with beautiful santos and relics.





The Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral is at one end of Plaza de Mayo. If you ever make it Buenos Aires, put this church on your must-see list. You will be glad you did. Better yet, take Alan's tour.

Pic of the Day: The Trees of Buenos Aires

A number of the plazas and parks have these tall trees with branches that twist and curve. These trees remind me of the Live Oaks from central Texas. Not sure what they are called, but they give the parks and plazas a wonderful romantic feel.



I also like the Ombú tree. There are quite a number of these large Banyan-like trees around the city. I believe they are native to the Pampas of South America. Buenos Aires Daily has a nice post about the one in Plaza Congreso

Although, I think the one in front of Le Biela cafe in the Recoleta rivals the one in Congreso as the biggest tree in the city.



Unlike the first trees above, it's the roots of this tree that twist and curve in a sinister like fashion straight out of horror story. Notice the hand-like root in the lower left. It's just waiting to pluck an innocent child into its bough.

That should put you in the Halloween spirit.

A Month of Firsts

Had My First Mate

Photo by AV4TAR

It is a true right of passage for an expat here to be offered mate. Mate is a big deal. You see porteños erverywhere in the parks and plazas with their mate gourd and thermoses of hot water.

The hot beverage is passed around similar to how the bong used to get passed around at the frat house. I think it started as a gaucho cowboy thing but is enjoyed by city folk of all walks of life. In fact, our local Jumbo store has a whole isle dedicated the "Yerba Mate" (mate weed).

The taste? A lot like drinking a cigarette mixed with green tea. It's very bitter, but after a few sips it starts to mellow out.

Kissed My First Man

Greetings and goodbyes are not done lightly in Argentina. A simple wave and "Bye, it was nice to meet you" won't do. You have to get in and close the deal with a simple kiss on the cheek.

In a place like Buenos Aires with all these beautiful women, this custom can be a very good thing indeed. Unfortunately, it is not restricted to us guys greeting women. Regular guys also kiss each other when greeting or saying farewell. Up till now, I have been restricting this custom to the opposite sex (despite what Diva says).

Well, the other day on one of my Flickr outings, we were all saying goodbye and there was no avoiding it. One of other guys shook my hand and then pulled me in before I knew what was happening.

After one guy did it, I would of offended the others if I refused their pecks too. So there I was kissing a group full of guys goodbye. Oh well, at least I held out for a month on this one.

Stepped in My First Pile of Dog Shit

Buenos Aires is a Dog city. Everyone has dogs. Big dogs. Big dogs have big droppings. And no one seems to mind their dog's by-products littering the city sidewalks. You have to be very careful navigating this city by foot, keeping one eye on the sidewalk at all times. The other day I stepped off the curb and felt a slight squishing give way under my foot.

I guess this means the honeymoon is over.

More From Belgrano

We love Belgrano. These apartments overlook the park and the train station. We were in the red one today. The view was incredible. You can see the river and across to Uruguay.



Most streets are lined with trees and are very peaceful.



A paseo in an old building in Chinatown.

Pic of the Day: Iglesia Guadalupe

Everyone keeps screaming for more pics. I admit I've been lax a bout taking the camera out and about. Today I arrived at my Spanish lesson and discovered my camera still in my bag. I've always wanted to capture the Iglesia Guadalupe. It is right across the street from my Spanish lesson.

I really like the view from the rear of the two spires. Unfortunately because it was cloudy, this shot came out kind of dull without the beautiful blue sky that normally is the backdrop. Converting to B/W helped a little.



And one more bonus pic: