Carnival Gualeguaychu Argentina

Every Saturday for two months Gualeguaychu in the province of Entre Rios celebrates carnival ('carnaval' in Spanish). I tried to see this last year but it was rained out not once but twice :-(( but we went on Saturday and the weather was well behaved this time.

A three hour bus ride from Buenos Aires gets you to the small spread out town of Gualeguaychu (pronounced Wally-wy-chu). The Carnival takes place on Saturday night but there are plenty of riverside beaches with bars and cafes to head to during the day.

Well enough of the tourism pitch and now for some photos. I have a terrible habit of cutting people heads off in photos as you're about to see.

Tags: .Carnival Carnaval Gualeguaychu Argentina..

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Love Hotels aka Telos in Buenos Aires

I can't believe it was almost a year ago (where the hell does the time go?) since I wrote this post about Love Hotels aka Telos which is worth a look if you didn't see it. I think I was mildly amusing and creative back then - what the hell happened?

I was reminded of it today because I saw a car driving around pulling a trailer with a big advert for one of these 'pay by the hour' hotels. Only arg$40 pesos for a 2 hour shagfest! (less than u$d12)

Before I arrived here I'd only seen places like these on TV movies which were usually pretty grotty and associated with prostitution. Here however, it's commonplace as 'kids' often live at home until they're married or shacked up with their better half. This can mean a 30+ year old 'kid' living with the parents and dating a possible Mr/Mrs Right needs a bit of privacy. So off they toddle to the Telo (love hotel) for some nookie.

You have a variety of rooms classes/prices to choose from.

Although the front entrance is frequently shielded by trees for privacy, they are not the seedy equivalent of the establishments you've seen on TV. For the most part, they are clean and well maintained, although there is a tendancy for the decor to be 70's pink porn style from floor to door to wall to ceiling to the champagne - all pink? If you pay a little extra you can stay longer and get breakfast in bed - pink tea and toast anyone?

Check 'em out yourself and let the lovefest begin!

http://www.sexnos.com.ar

http://www.pink-hotel.com.ar

Tags: .Love hotels, Transitorios (temporary hotels) aka Telos in Buenos Aires..

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Noche de los Museos (Night of the Museums)

As promised, here is more of the cultural stuff going on in Buenos Aires - Noche de los Museos (Night of the Museums) Buenos Aires, Argentina


National Geographic recently mentioned this humble blogger not just once but twice for Free things to do in Buenos Aires

There maybe no such thing as a 'free lunch' but on Saturday, November 15th, 2008, most of the museums in Buenos Aires will be open from 7pm - 2am (yes am) for free. Add to this the free concerts of all varieties of music from classical to jazz to rock to tango. Public transport to get to the various venues is free. The whole thing finishes off with a kick ass open air party down by the docks in Puerto Madero with bands, DJ's, dancing and as is typical in this neck of the woods it goes till dawn and oh yeah, I forgot to mention - it's free. Click here for more details for free.

Tags: ..Free things to do in Buenos Aires, Noche de los Museos (Night of the Museums)..

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Barrio Chino (Chinatown), Buenos Aires

According to Google, quite a few visitors to this blog come here to discover tips and info about Buenos Aires and travel in Argentina in general and I've not been posting much of that type of content recently so I'm going to try and do a weekly post to introduce different neighbourhoods and events.

We went to Barrio Chino recently which is a small area of just a couple of blocks where there are lots of restaurants (Chinese ones strangely enough!) and supermarkets where you can buy all sorts of oriental produce including spices and soy sauce etc. It's one of the best places to buy fresh fish as they have a great selection and they are very reasonably priced. I decided to buy some merluza (similar to hake) so I bought 2 huge fish for 23 pesos (US$7).

They de-gut them in a quick n' dirty fashion for you but don't de-bone them. I put the fish in the fridge on Friday when we got home. We had family commitments most of the weekend and stayed over at the in-laws Saturday night and didn't get back to the apartment until Sunday evening.

When I opened the fridge there was the most god awful, noxious, abominable smell you could ever imagine. Not to be deterred, I removed the fish and washed them and filleted them. The smell subsided.

I put one in a large pot and cooked it slowly with coconut milk and veg for fish stew which was quite tasty. I stuck the other one in the freezer. Bad Move! Opened the freezer the following day and the same waft of wrank nasty fish hit me in the face. I immediately dumped the fish but the smell won't go away. It's like that Seinfeld episode where he can't get the smell of B.O. out of the car.

Anybody want to buy a fridge - going cheap?

How to get there: Intersection of Juramento and Arribenos in Belgrano.

Subway D to Juramento or there is a bus depot right beside it

Tags: ..Barrio Chino Buenos Aires, Chinatown, Chinese in Buenos Aires, smelly fish, where to buy spices Buenos Aires..

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Oktoberfest Argentina

Oktoberfest in Villa General Belgrano, Córdoba, Argentina

Every year in October the small town of Villa General Belgrano goes a little 'extra krout'. Many of the descendants of the town are of German origin and some still speak German. Argentina is not renowned for it's beer. The national brand of Quilmes is simply quite awful but there are some great micro brewers in the area that are a welcome exception to the rule.

This beerfest has been going since 1964 and now the town has a dedicated park to house the beerfest each year. The official party starts with a parade and gets going at noon each day making its way to the park enclosure. They have traditional bands and German food and of course beer and this continues until midnight. The after party includes salsa / cumbia music and of course more beer until the wee hours! Highly recommended - Enjoy the pics!

Tags: ..Oktoberfest Buenos Aires, Oktoberfest Argentina,Villa General Belgrano in Córdoba, beer, party..

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Puerto Madero, Buenos Aires

I went on one of my now famous walkathons today.  I need to motivate myself to get going but once I get going, I'm like Forrest Gump or the Energizer Bunny - I just keep going and going.  15 minutes walk from our new place in San Telmo is the barrio of Puerto Madero.

It's probably one of the most expensive places to stay in a hotel or rent an apartment in Buenos Aires.  It's a tacky tourist area and restaurant prices are on a par with accommodation i.e. bling bling! although there are some good buffet deals.

Despite the credit crunch elsewhere in the world, construction is booming here (see photos above and below) and great monstrosities of tower blocks with luxury apartments are selling and renting for up to 10 times the going rates elsewhere in the city.

There is a huge ecological park behind Puerto Madero that is a welcome respite from the concrete jungle.  It's a bird watchers haven and although I am a city slicker at heart, it's so refreshing coming here to escape...everything and anything! (check the photos below). 

I did the 8km circuit around the park at high (extra sunny) noon and now look very similar to  this...

Tags: Puerto Madero, ecological park, The Parque Natural y Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur Natural Park and Ecological Reserve,apartments 

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San Telmo, Buenos Aires

I finally got the WIFI working in our new place via our DSL service 'Speedy' so internet is now functional in any room of our one bedroom apartment!  We had cable internet in the old place with Fibertel (Cablevision) and neither is very fast compared with USA or UK. They both advertise 3 megabytes per second but it's no where near that from the tests I've done but it's better than dangling from the balcony trying to steal someone signal.

We haven't got TV connected yet, which is a blessing in disguise as far as I'm concerned.  We've been going thru the old DVD collection so it's been fun watching / rewatching some vintage old stuff. I finally got around to watching Billy Connollys World Tour of England, Ireland & Wales which I've had for about 6 years which was a good nostalgic trip down memory lane. I also have ALL the old Star Trek movies so it's been a Kirk & Spock marathon overload! The wife is not a big fan and cannie' take anymore Captain!

Here are some photos of the new neighbourhood. I've been happy snapping as I stroll around.  It's one of the oldest parts of the city and has an interesting mix of locals (portenos) and tourists. Many of the the buildings (that thankfully haven't been torn down yet) are really old, ornate and beautiful and there are a few great indoor and outdoor markets.

I've got 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly' playing on dvd right now so you must excuse me as I watch my bad boy hero Clint shoot 'em up!

Tags: San Telmo Buenos Aires, San Telmo Tango, San Telmo Bars, San Telmo Barrio, San Telmo Restaurants, San Telmo Apartments rent

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Pet Peeves - The list grows longer!

I have an ever growing list of pet peeves as I get older. If patience is a virtue, then I guess I am sadly, very lacking in at least that virtue and probably many others.

It was a long weekend here, so we headed about 350kms north east of Buenos Aires to a tiny remote town with 'termas' (hot springs). The place is called Villa Elisa and is in the province of Entre Ríos. The location was pleasant enough and we had a nice bungalow, 3minutes walk from the termas.

Most people head out of Buenos Aires to 'el campo' (the countryside) to escape the crowds. This weekends experience was the opposite. Sharing a pool with 250 people and being poked, prodded and elbowed is not my idea of fun but seems to be 'the norm' here. I think you get points for the more people you can bump, shove and squash. I HATE crowds - Do NOT invade my personal space. Think of it as an imaginary bubble that protrudes from my frame, just like my beer belly and beyond!

My tolerance for queueing is almost non existant, but this was tested to the limit this weekend as the hoards that descended on this place seemed preconditioned to forming lines as some sort of bizzare communal ritual. The longer the line, the more succesful the ritual. Want to buy a beer? - Join the queue. Want to eat? - Wait outside on the line. Need to pee? - Cross your legs and wait your turn.

The highlight of the trip was a relatives 'sweet fifteen' birthday party which we had been invited to. The venue was at a club called 'Frank Zappa' and they played the entire collection from Pink Floyds - 'Dark Side of the Moon' before, during and after the meal - surreal! As is typical in Argentina this went on till the wee hours and we headed back to our bungalow at 6am while the rest partied on till past dawn.

Besides people who walk slowly and block your path, another one of my pet peeves is traffic jams and the inexplicable gradual slow down in traffic only to speed up again for no apparent reason. The farmers are blocking the roads again so traffic was heavy on the road home. We were very lucky to make it back to Buenos Aires today as many others are still stranded half way due to the blockades.

Got any pet peeves to share?

Tags: Pet Peeves, people who walk slowly and block your path, 'sweet fifteen' birthday party
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FREE BEER! - Yes You Heard Right !

I like (actually I love) to go for a quiet pint every now n' then and just stare into the deafening silence and hear the hypnotysing clock on the wall "tick- tock - tick- tock!" There's something therapeutic about it.

When I want to go out for a pint somewhere with some atmosphere, it gets a bit more complicated. For one thing people don't go out here until LATE, VERY LATE! - They eat late, they drink late, they party late. They go to work late! - A city of vampires if ever there was one!

Bars mid week are empty until 11pm so forget about the after work tipple. If your lucky the bar will get some traffic just before midnight.

Clubs don't open at weekends until 1 am and won't be busy until 3am and wrap up somewhere between 7-10am. Siestas are a way of life and one which I've adapted to....zzzzZZZZZZZZZ!

....Where was I? ah yes....

There is an exception however......


From the same person who brought you 24 Hour Alcohol Delivery comes the true story a local bar that is offering the following:

FREE BEER !!!

For Girls : Free beer and free national drinks everyday noon to midnite
For Guys : incredible HAPPY HOUR with free pizza - 3PM-8PM.

Chicas Argentinas
Photos Courtesy of 'El Alamo Bar': Sunday, Monday, Tuesday Night is Bikini Night!

Full Details Here

Shoeless Joes El Alamo Bar

Address: Uruguay 1175 (between Santa Fe & Arenales), Recoleta

Photos of signs courtesy of Buenos Aires Tours

• Free Beer for everybody with lunch.
• Free domestic booze for the ladies until 10pm.

Before I get slapped for being a sexist pig (again) - I am really only doing this as a public service announcement for you thirsty ladies. - SO ENJOY!

Thanks to fellow blogger Julia at Evans Gate for reminding me about this den of inequity.

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I See Dead People!

Recoleta District (Barrio), Buenos Aires

Probably the most touristy district in Buenos Aires is Recoleta. It's here you find an over priced arty / souvenir market (on weekends) and restaurants that charge double than outlying areas. It's also where you find lots of famous dead people in the cemetery including several ex heads of state and of course, the pride and joy of the country, Evita a.k.a Eva Peron (don't cry now!) and don't make jokes or this could happen.

If you don't like cats then don't come here because the stray cats are breeding like rabbits or indeed err ..em...cats, in this dead zone and pissing like horses and the stench of cat pish can be over powering at times. The graves / tombs are elaborate to the point of being tacky and probably cost more to build than a 3 bed apartment uptown. It's a good central location though so maybe you could invite the relatives to stay at your tomb for a long weekend after you've snuffed it.

Although the 6pm curfew could be a tad awkward unless they can scale high walls. It seems to be par for the course in Buenos Aires to have very high walls around a cemetery and I'm still not sure if it's to keep the grave robbers out or the dead people in!

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Temaiken Zoo, Outskirts of Buenos Aires

The Buenos Aires city zoo has a reputation for being a bit old and drab and the animals a bit, well, old and drab! However about 60kms outside the city is Temaiken Zoo which is refreshingly clean, interesting, has healthy animals and very well maintained. See more info on this link.



If you get bored of the Zoo, there's a big beer garden across the road. What more you you ask for? And now a really corny joke.

A Man goes to the zoo, but when he arrives there's only a dog?
It was a Shitzu!

Photo: Courtesy Paraflyer

fyi - no elephants at Temaiken :-(

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Boo-A-Hoo!

Saturday was to be the last big night for Carnival 2008 in Gualeguaychu. Every Saturday for 2 months, the place goes crazy with a parade of scantily clad dancers in traditional carnival costume, watched by thousands of people, partying till the wee hours. The festival basically involves women wearing no more than 30 sq. cm of glittery transparent material, gyrating their hips in a provocative manner, to the deafening sound of carnival music being blasted from a massive truck full of speakers, while throngs of onlookers watch,drool and drink on the sidelines. All good clean fun, to be sure, to be sure!

The town, situated on a river was fairly small and despite the frequent rain showers, there was a good buzz around the place in anticipation of a long fun night ahead. There was a big beach party to get things warmed up beforehand which was completely packed with young ladies being ogled and cheered at by older men. I only ogled, no cheering, honest! Half an hour before the official kickoff (10.30pm) of the main event we got the news the party was postponed for a day due to rain. Despite this setback, it was a fun night and a short visit to the casino brought some respite and a small profit. The following day brought more rain and more bad news. The last day of Carnival 2008 was officially canceled due to wet weather! Sob sob, boo hoo!
It was a tad disappointing but an enjoyable experience nevertheless.

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Gualeguaychu Carnival, Argentina

Photo: Carnival Fun

Tomorrow, I'm off to the last day of carnival in these there parts in Gualeguaychu Carnival, Argentina with the missus and some friends. I went to carnival in Trinidad & Tobago a few years ago and it was an absolute blast. It was a 'lads only trip' and we got kitted out with costumes and took part in the parade. Before you ask, NO, you can't see photos (one is above & no I'm not in it). The missus just went to the carnival in Bahia, Brazil 2008 (chick only trip!), which is supposed to be better than Rio according to carnival veterans. I won't be able to read, comment on blogs for a wee while but hope to post the occasional mobile phone post to the blog so keep watching and I'll catch you on the other side.

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Suckin' Face in Pinamar

Five hours down the coast from Buenos Aires, lies the laid back beach resort of Pinamar. We went for the weekend to see what it had it offer and because this is high summer season, it was busy,busy, busy! We were lucky to be able to stay with friends right on the beach front.

It seems as though, if you're not a teenager, then you probably don't belong here. There are throngs of kids who takeover the beach during the day and then the majority of the nightlife scene is also geared towards the young folk. It's quite normal here for thirteen to sixteen year olds to be out till the wee hours, a.) because it's safe and b.) the kids here for the most part, are not into drinking or other vices although recent news reports suggest that's changing.

It would be difficult to see this being possible back in Europe or USA, with the drug/lager lout mentality of kids today. It's hard not to feel old as you pass the clubs at midnight, with queue's of teenie-boppers round the block. When I was their age, I was lucky if I got to go to a school disco and even then, the nuns and priests (Sister Concepta and Father Feely) would be doing the rounds of the dance floor, making sure bodily contact was kept to an absolute minimum. Kissing was grounds for ex-communication. Here it's a different story. They're suckin' face at any given opportunity, street corners, parks, bars (is nowhere sacred?!).

Where I'm from, P.D.A's (public displays of affection) are culturally frowned upon and proper order too. The last thing I want to see as I'm walking down the street, is a hoard of prepubescent teenagers playing tonsil hockey. They should be rounded up like stray dogs and locked in bible study for a day. I've always found religion to be a great deterrent, like being grounded only worse. I mean which is scarier?

A.) Stay in your room - ok fine!
B.) Go to Mass! - No, No, anything but that!
That'll teach ya to keep your tongue in YOUR mouth, not hers!

In Pinamar, the ol' foggies like me are relegated to the cafe's for a quite chat and a game of dominoes, as the kids stomp it up at the clubs. Because this is the Atlantic coast, the water is damn cold and its windy a lot of the time, so in conclusion, I'm not a big fan of the place or scene. It's almost 10pm so I'm off to bed to with me cardigan and slippers and a cup o' hot cocoa.

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Mar Del Plata

Mar Del Plata is the biggest resort on Argentina’s Atlantic coast (approx 5 hours south of Buenos Aires). We went for five days in what would be considered off season. Apparently in the height of summer it’s completed over crowded and best avoided but at this time of year it was quite pleasant and somewhat better than I expected.

There are several large beaches and the further out of town you head, the less crowded they become. The ‘in’ thing to do seems to be to rent your own little canopy and set up base camp on the beach. These private enclosures have access to café’s, clean toilets and showers and even sports activities (paddle ball = mini tennis, volley ball etc)

While we were in town they just happened to have the annual Reina del Mar (Queen of the Sea) beauty competition where we somehow managed to blag our way into the VIP section for a close up view of some of the local chica talent and mighty fine talent it was too! (purely from an artistic perspective of course!)

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San Telmo

We visited the neighbourhood of San Telmo at the weekend. It's most famous for its 'touristy' market set in a plaza surrounded by cobblestone streets with restaurants, cafes and bars. As with most tourist destinations there plenty of old gypsy women and young kids trying to coerce you into giving them money. Some of them are very determined and a bit hard nosed and pester you even if you respond with a firm 'No'. One enterprising young lad claimed he needed just 20 pesos for his school and his target donation dropped in 5 peso decrements till just a 'moneda' (coin) was required as he reeled off his oft practiced speech. I'm not belittling the fact that some of these folks really need the money, but the approach is a little too much in your face and the philosophy is to drive you to the point of handing over somehthing just to get rid of them.

The market itself is interesting and has plenty to offer in the way of jewelry, trinkets and souveniers albeit overpriced. There were three cruise ships in town and there were people handing over dollars and pesos for trinkets like it was monopoly money, which considering the exchange rate it, I suppose pesos are like monopoly money.

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La Boca

I finally got around to visiting this colourful neighbourhood in the south east of the city at the weekend. It’s near the old port and famous for its houses painted in bright colours and it’s also home to Boca Juniors football club which has a devout following here. There was a River Plate VS Boca Juniors game on Sunday which is classic rivalry similar to the ‘old firm’ (Celtic V Rangers) games back home only much much more intense. The tv stations who don’t have the rights to show the game still have commentators and a camera panning around showing just the crowd in the stadium and the score which is still entertaining if slightly bizarre.

The government organises free tours of ‘La Boca’ and you can find information on this and other free tours here http://www.bue.gov.ar The area has a bit of a ‘dodgy’ reputation for crime and there is a heavy police presence especially at weekends so its advisable to stick to the main streets. There are plenty of restaurants with a bit of a ‘hard sell’ approach to get you to eat and most have entertainment, tango musicians / dancers, albeit somewhat tacky touristy. There was a Maradona look alike offering a photo taken with him for 20-30 pesos a snap which for here is a tad extortionate so I decided to 'leave him on the bench'.

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The Night of the Museums

Photo: Free Late Night Concert & DJ's

Late nights are the norm in Buenos Aires but here's a novel idea for a late night cultural experience. Once a year ( in either October or November) they give free access to almost all the museums. (http://www.lanochedelosmuseos.com.ar/) from 7pm to 2am.

There are also free concerts, jazz, rock, classical all over the city. To help you get to the various locations they have free buses. If going to museums sounds like it might be a bit dull for a weekend night, fear not, as they finish the whole thing off with a big late night party with bands and DJ’s. This happens down by the port (Puerto Madero) and goes till the wee hours (like 7 or 8am!!)

As we were heading home at 3:30am it was only starting to get going and the throngs of late night revellers were just beginning to arrive. See 2008 update here

Tags: The Night of the Museums, La Noche de los Museos, Argentina, Buenos Aires, Free stuff

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Pool / Billiards

So its no secret I like an ol' game of pool n' a beer. There's a place called 'JOBS' located at Arenales y Agüero which has a few floors of tables and full on archery (yes I know archery and alcohol don't ususually go hand in hand) on the top floor and gets busiest on a Tuesday night (young crowd but I met the missus there on my first visit to B.A. many moons ago). However no better place in Buenos Aires than 'Calle 36 Billares' http://www.los36billares.com.ar/secciones/pool.htm in the centre of B.A. (Av. de Mayo 1265). It's over a hunded years old and has carom (pocketless) billiards, pool & snooker and stays open till the wee hours with a 'lock in' on weekends if your nice to the management. Waiter service for cheap beer tops off the quality of the place. Paradise found!

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