It's Thurday now (7th Feb) and I'm facing up to not having ritten anything here for a few day. I've been busy having fun.
I'm writing from on board the luxurious Buque Bus having just left B.A. and all the friends at the hostel, except Jade who I'm going to meet up with in Montevideo. She got a ticket for a different bus.
So right now I'm crossing the Rio de la Plata. It is a suny morning, the saftey video is playing quietly to itself in the corner and on the top deck Latin American tourists are laying in the sun while a bunch of teenagers around a guitar sing happily.
It's sad to have said goodbye to many of the people in B.A. especially all the Chileans - Andres and Sebastian and "Chile" (also named Andres) - also "Sud Afrika" (Tato), Nadia (of Buenos Aires) and Stella Maris ( South Argentina). But, it's great to have made such friends and as with the people in England, time for missing people is rare.
Anyway all the sadness is more than countered by the excitement of the journey ahead, plus the possibility of continuing on my way with Jade.
To re-cap on the time in the hostel:
The communal eating, drinking and talking was the best, so, so friendly, plain and simple. Learning Spanish has been fun.
I went out on the Saturday night. Tato and I were invited to join S/Maris and Nadia and Chile. After some chicken and chips (good chicken mind!) we went out, about 23.30.
We came to a happening down the road. Apparently a kind of impromptue street party. It struck me as a warm up to Carnival but perhaps it could happen any weekend.
Now B.A. is huge so it is not like this was going on in the centre or was necessarily the only one, there could be loads of such happenings all over the city. Drummers in an organised yet freeform team with mad dancers wearing the same tema colours. There are whisltes blown too. The dance is expressive and almost angry. It struck me as a display of power, incorporating sexy struting and rapid high kicks.
Nadia wanted to press on, we were going to a bar where she works and she wnated not to be late so we danced our way through the crowd getting squirted with silly string on the way.
Nadia's work was in a square with lots of other bars. The middle of the square had all the tables and chairs from all the bars and waiters from all the places mixed together in an impressive display of table service. Round the sides artisans, like Jade, had all their wares on display, woven, silver jewelery, clever, paper lanterns, knotted, string bracelets.
Upstairs, inside, Nadia seated the four of us. A guy with an electic guitar and an excellent voice, accompanied by a sound board master opened the night's entertainment with Metallica's "Enter Sandman". I'll never be able to think of that song without it being sung in an Argentinian accent from now on. It was really awesome and the whole room loved it.
People round here seem to really get into the music, clapping and singing. There was even a spell of karioki.
It was an awesome night that remained me, despite its big city setting of Marsden's Band Room, a small village local with a shame and embarresment free feel.
We won a bottle of champaign in the free raffle.