Crossing the Drake Passage: a short clip

I took a short clip from the bridge on our way back to Ushuaia.  These conditions are relatively calm and barely register as swells as per the captain and staff.  We were apparently quite lucky both on our way to and from Antarctica- if this is calm I would never have survived a rough passage!!

What to do when you have 12 hours in Buenos Aires

A special thankyou to Victoria for arranging all my flights for me and to Stacey and Clif for taking me in for the night! I LOVED what little time I spent in Buenos Aires and can't wait to go back. Here is a look at the ridiculous twelve hours or so that I spent in BA.

Landing late-night in BA 

Returning to land meant we now had internet and WiFi access.  This picture is exactly why I'm happy that we did not have internet access on the ship. 

The apartment we stayed in was chic, modern and reminded me a lot of NYC.  We were in a gated high rise complex in the Palermo section of Buenos Aires.

The pool on our floor - not bad right??

Buenos Aires is filled with interesting architecture and there were murals around every corner.  This mural was one of my favorites.  I wrote a separate post on the street art in BA where I share some of the other murals we saw and include some interesting historical facts.  

Stairs and entryway to a small church around the corner.

Random old school van that further reminded me of the show Lost and the Dharma Initiative : )

Newsstands sold a wide array of comic books.

Most of the areas bars and restaurants were also pained with brightly colored murals.

This is not a Marchesa skirt. This is the man on the corner selling feather dusters - of course.

It was past noon, I think.  Why not start lunch with a cocktail?

Caprese salad that was to die for.  The mozzarella tasted more like provolone to me- I loved it!

In BA, the servers know how to prepare and pour a proper scotch.  It was fun to watch and nice to see the attention to detail.

I am sad to say I pulled a bad tourist move and took a picture in Starbucks- but come on how funny is the term Bebidas Skinny?  Maybe it's just me.  I also love seeing the differences in the food offerings at international Starbucks locations.  I noticed that the portion sizes were bigger in BA - they had a cheesecake that was easily 2 servings.  There were also a few things that we don't have- I can't remember exactly what but I know there was Dulce de Leche involved!

One of my favorite things to do when I travel is to visit local grocery stores and check out the local versions of America products.

In particular I love checking out the flavors of chips offered in other countries. 

This is a huge tree that extended into the zoo.  We actually contemplated going into the zoo and realized that seemed ridiculous considering where we just came from.

A quick trip through the mall in BA and we stopped in the Sony store that had this interesting little setup.

And I made time to test out the new PlayStation.  N.B.: I am not good at zombie games.

I either shrunk 3 inches in Argentina or the whole selfie posture has turned me into a shortie!  I just noticed the little boy in the background - probably thinking how weird adults are.

I'm not really sure about this….but I had to take a photo.

We stopped in every store that looked remotely interesting and we stumbled upon these strange spheres that are apparently used as an alternative way to grow plants.

A bowl of spheres used to grow plants.

We also paused to take some photos for our own version of Sharknado. 

Eat your heart out Tara Reid! I'll be starring in Sharknado II!

Always take embarrassing selfies in random stores to identify oneself as a US and/or Canadian tourist.

We stopped for an afternoon drink before continuing our walk around Palermo.

I usually like everything but these I did not like.  In theory cheese and olives sound delicious but not in this case.

The architecture around BA was so interesting and ornate.  Every door, every window, every building was different.  I like how this older design was right next to a more modern apartment building.

This is my idea of heaven: cheese, cured meats and wine.

BA is filled with cobblestone streets and reminded me a lot of Old San Juan with an Italian flair.

I wish I had time for a proper dinner in BA.  Meat. That is all.

My dad was really into vintage cars so I learned a lot about them growing up.  I smiled when I saw this Peugeot because my parents used to have a Peugeot moped when I was little and I recognied the logo right away.  I'm not sure if this is a true vintage or just a car in need of TLC but it fit right in on the cobblestone street.

The colors and doors of Buenos Aires were unique; another similarity to Old San Juan.

Apparently Taco Box in BA has a logo similar to Chilis- I wonder who had it first?

This small house seemed out of place with it's by-the-sea cottage look.

This is a door handle I passed on one of the cobblestone streets.

I really liked the wooden door and detailed metalwork on this building front.

Who doesn't love a little pink and purple?

This corner home was stunning.  Not so sure about the colors but I absolutely love the large windows

Don't forget to take a drive-by selfie when walking by a mirror shop!

The kind of meat. 

We took a right and hit a dead end where we found this telephone booth!

And a selfie had to happen in front of this picture.  It was meant to be.

Derebique says good-bye to Buenos Aires.  Who is Derebique? You'll have to wait to find out.

Good-bye Buenos Aires.

Buenos Aires Street Art: politics, Antarctic exploration, yarn bombing and Batman?

I only spent one night in Buenos Aires but made the most of my short time there.  I'm looking forward to going back to explore the city but for now I'll write a couple posts on how I spent my time there.

Behind the street art of Buenos Aires I was awestruck by the number of murals on walls and inside parks throughout Palermo. Apparently we only saw the tip of the iceberg (pun intended) and there are hundreds more murals to see in other areas; each with a deeper meaning than the next. I shouldn't have been surprised given my background in Latin American politics and literature; there is a deep connection between the history of such countries and the artistic and literary works of past and present. Remember the great political murals by Goya and the like? Buenos Aires has its own unique history and artistic representation. There are so many articles and slide shows on the murals throughout Buenos Aires so I'm not sure which and how many to share. In the meantime, I'll post a series of murals that I saw on the walls surrounding a park and a few of my other favorites spotted during my brief time in BA.  BBC published a few lines and a slideshow that was right to the point. I also found an entire site dedicated to Buenos Aires Street Art.  As I do more research I'll add to the descriptions below and will include the mural names, artist(s), and hopefully some interesting historical info.

My favorite mural:

"The Creation of Batman" by Mario Calvo & Pato Kozow.  See BA Street Art's article on this mural for more info and additional photos.

Below are a series of photos showing the murals surrounding a park near the apartment.  I've included as much background information as I could find for now.

A mural that shows the Plaza Alferez Jose Maria Sobral in Buenos Aires

The Plaza was named after Jose Maria Sobral.  Sobral was born in Argentina and is known as the father of Argentine Antarctica.  I had no idea when I took the photo above that I was capturing a piece of history related to Antarctic exploration! His expedition group landed at Snow Hill Island on the Eastern part of the Antarctic Peninsula.

Map for reference showing where the Swedish Antarctic Expedition first landed with Sobral in relation to Neko Harbor where we visited.

Photo of a mural showing the Galileo Galilei Planetarium in Buenos Aires.

Mural showing the Puente de la Mujer in Buenos Aires.  The landmark's name is appropriate given that many streets in the surrounding area are named after women.  It is a pedestrian bridge that allows vessels to pass in less than 2 minutes- the engineering is unique in that it has a forward-angled cantilever.

This mural shows the national library designed in part (for about the third time) by Clorindo Testa.  The full quote reads: "No se trata de hacer ventanas sino de perforar muros" and is a quote from Testa.  It makes much more sense in Spanish but the best English translation is roughly telling that it's not so much about making windows as it is drilling through walls.  

Testa was famous for his contributions to the 'brutalist movement' in Argentina.  I love the history behind this library since one of its past directors happens to be one of my literary heroes: Jorge Luis Borges.  A little known fact about me is that my second major in college was Spanish & Portuguese Language & Literature (!) and I have a very passionate relationship to the literary figures of both Spain & Latin America.  Many of the central themes found in the literature I studied are also paralleled in the historical art and in the more recent street art of BA.  If you're at all interested in how history relates tot he art and literature of Latin America you might want to check out some of the stories and books by my favorites like Borges and Clemente.

Photo of a mural by Dario Parvis who is most typically known for recreating variations of works by Dali.

Mural "Cafetin Porteno" by Magdalena Okecki 

In addition to murals, we spotted several "Yarn Bombings" in BA.  What is that, you ask? It's kind of like a really cool version of your grandma crocheted a cozies for tree trunks!  An artist name Licia Santuz was reportedly the city's first yarn bomber.  I recently read that this phenomenon started in the US - I haven't seen any here yet, but I'll probably have to head out to Brooklyn to see one. (Just kidding! Sort of.)  Actually, it appears that I missed a major yarn bombing of the Wall Street Bull in 2010.

A red, white & blue "Yarn Bombing" in Palermo, Buenos Aires.