bicicleta naranja

if I spelled that right.
I´m waiting to leave for the airport to go to my Iguazu in less than 24 hrs adventure, so this will be quick. Yesterday, in walking from the center of town to San Telmo (the older part of town, that was basically lower-middle class after an early 20th century outbreak of yellow fever made the rich folk get away from the mosquitos), I stumbled across a bicycle tour place, and signed up. On a 3.5 hour tour, we road through San Telmo, to La Boca, past the futbol stadium where we stopped and got a long discourse by our guide, ana, about the allegiances of Argentinian football. (Note to Sergio: the Brazilian in the group wanted to go to a match). Got to the touristic Caminito, full of street tango perfomers and 'artists' and cheap souvenirs. Rode through some very clearly poorer neighborhoods, under the highway and then all around the ecological reserve.






We stopped to take in the Rio de la Plata, the widest river in the world at a mere 40km. It looked like the ocean.

Strangely enough, one guy on the tour, Aaron, was also from Vancouver, though he seems to lead a somewhat fantastic life in which he lives in countries for three months and sets up businesses in them. His boyfriend, Peter, was with him, and had quit his job in SF to try his hand at producing world sacred music (think 1 giant leap). The bike tour itself was great, and Diana was full of interesting facts about the history and mindset of portenos and argentinians in general. There seems to be a general obsession with the way in which the other south american countries view Argentina.
In the evening, I went to a community centre based milonga, or tango club. The goal -- to take a tango lesson -- was, alas, not achieved. I couldn´t understand enough spanish to figure out where the beginner group was. I suppose I could have asked, but I was tired and a bit self-conscious. It was just getting going at 11 pm. Maybe I will go back when I return.