Buenos Aires

It's been a while since I have last posted. I am in Buenos Aires, staying at a lovely little apartment in Polermo disctrict, enjoying a balcony, fruit markets and a new travel guitar. It feels really (really) good to have my traveling shoes on again. I am getting better at Spanish and found a lovely wine for $2 a bottle.

I have had a lot of adventures since arriving in South America, over a month ago. Nine months working in Antarctica was life changing, and my experience has given me a great appreciation for life as a slugabed traveler. I came to the city of Buenos Aires, through Chile, across the Andes via bus.

Crossing the Andes

Switchbacks en route to Mendoza in Argentina

Buenos Aires is a great place and I have been enjoying the local sights and sounds with my inspiring traveling companion, Carla. Buenos Aires is friendly and easy to get around. The food is great, life is affordable and green spaces abound around every corner. City life here is elegant yet rough-edged, welcoming to travelers looking for an interesting place to live for a month, or longer. I just have to remember to keep my pockets buttoned and get used to staying up late. Porteños (Buenos Aireans) normally eat dinner between 8 and 11pm and bars are usually open until 6am.

The streets on Sunday in San Telmo

Building facades near the San Telmo markets

Groovy alien graffiti

These torso-less creatures are painted all over town

A protest in the streets

Kitty Cat living among the coffins in La Recoleta Cemetary

Statues in La Recoleta Cemetary

The past couple of days I spent in Colonia, Uruguay, scooting around on a motorbike and enjoying the sunshine and relative calm of a vacation town. The Barrio Histórico (historic quarter) section of Colonia del Sacramento is designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and impressivly solid, having been build in the 1600s. I will definitely post some photos shortly. For now, I head back to the streets.

Back in Chile

Okay, it's been a while and a lot has happened. My last blog had me boarding the Gould last minute. We left Palmer, completed a successful and speedy medical evacuation. I was fortunate to visit King George Island and mingle with the Chileans. Once the medevac was complete we were called back to the Palmer and the Antarctic peninsula to continue with 10 more days of science. The time at sea was good, I worked nights 12midnight-12noon. We hauled fish, sampled water for bacteria, and dropped CTDs (Conductivity, Temperature and Depth of seawater).

Now, I find myself in Punta Arenas wrapping things up on the Laurence M. Gould and looking forward to a long needed vacation (it's been 9 months). It was sunny and in the high 50's on the pier today. I spent a few hours in town, running errands, drinking coffee at a cafe and practicing my Spanish. Working on the deck of the Gould was glorious. Absolutely wonderful. Tonight a surly crew of friends and coworkers are meeting in town, at Marmitas, for dinner and frivolity.