Buenos Aires Day 2 - February 4, 2010

The revised ETA on the bikes is Sunday, February 7th, so now we need to determine if we can clear "aduana" (customs) that day or if we will need to wait until Monday.  It would be nice to get some distance on the odometers soon.

Given the additional time in Buenos Aires, we've relocated to more comfortable accomodations as our initial "port in the storm" was a bit rustic for this stage of the journey.  We may look back longingly at the cramped quarters and 4' by 4' all in one toilet, sink, shower, bidet combination as luxurious, but for now it seems like an unnecessary hardship.

We're now at the Hotel Palermo off Avenue Sante Fe and Godoy Cruz.  It's a pre-1930 building with an interesting french and art-deco architecture.  Our room has an 11 foot ceiling and space to move around in as well as an old-style stone and iron balcony overlooking the street.  Buenos Aires hums 24 hours a day (it's midnite as I write this and the restaurant is full of people and young families with children aged 2 to 5 years old), so our balcony offers a good perch to watch the show from - and a great spot for a cigar or three!

The hours following the move were spent exploring the city and checking a few things off the to-do list including a haircut for me and a bit of essentials shopping for the road.

The city is incredibly dense with more than 2/3rds of the over 12 million population living in an apartment building of some type.

Many of the side streets in the Palermo Barrio (neighbourhood) are lined with large trees that form a dense canopy shading the buildings and cobblestone beneath - the cooling effect is tremendous.

We've been sampling the local cuisine, but so far have been disappointed with the dominant meat dishes.  The quality and diversity of steak, sauasage, and other meats is incredible, but the preparation and delivery has been lacking as the dishes can be very bland. (Should have brought some course salt and a little dried garlic along!)  The "empanada's" on the other hand are delicious.  These are small traditional light pastries baked with various cheeses, meats, and spices inside.  We've also been able to enjoy a few differnent Argentine wines with dinners, and at 20-30 pesos a bottle ($6-9CDN) we'll be enjoying a few more before we hit the road.

It's still hot, 31 degrees C and over 95% humidity today, but we are adjusting (me quicker than Petra, as those that know her would expect - June and January!)