Hamish....

my niece

Kelly

posted

this

on

facebook

He

is

having

a

great

time

at

Beve

and

Chris's

place

paseadoros de perros.....the dog walkers

Carlos and his chicos,

the dog walkers

of Belgrano

and Palermo.

Otto, Fransisco,

and David.

On my last

day in Buenos

Aires, Carlos

bought big slices

of Tortas for

us all to pig out

on.

and we finished with lots of sticky kisses.

International Book Fair

international

book fair

Buenos Aires

2013

and

some

of

the

stalls

were

increible!

 

bit of a party at the Dutch Embassy

Dutch Embassy

Buenos Aires

April 2013

Some of the members

of the Eloisa Cartonera

 after a pleasant

little evening quaffing

wine and beers and

nibbles and more

wine and nibbles

and dessert, three

varieties.

They won the Prince Claus Award last year and this was a bit of a 'do' for the locals who didn't make it over to The Netherlands to pick up the goodies.

la/el? internacional feria del libros

The International book Fair.

Buenos Aires

April 2013

The Eloisa Cartonera were

invited to hold workshops

at this HUGE event.

i can't remember how

many pavillions there were,

but there were queues of

people thronging every day

at the gates.

I was one of the workers

covered in paint helping

the kids decorate their books. This little chica was very cute and we had a blast teaching each other different words in our different languages. I was blown away with some of the kids painting, and others, well, cool gooey messes.

Killing time in Santiago Airport

Mendoza, Argentina.

I found this nice guy in a park

beside all the official type

buildings.

I think all famous

heads should be

subjected to this

  sort of make-over.

  

desayuno con Madelene

Breakfast in the sun with

Madelene. A cute little

cafe just around the 

corner from home.

I live in a neighbourhood

that has lots of 

beautiful old old

trees, and usually a

cafe, a grocery story, a

laundry, or vege store

on every corner.

no zoning of residential

and comerical here.

it's all thrown in

together.

Handy!

waiters wait...

El Mercardo

Montevideo

Uruguay.

This market is situated by the

port in Montevideo.

It is an old

iron super structure

 to be used as a railway

station. English in

design and construction,

it was sent by boat

aiming for Chile.

It got as far as

Montevideo...and

got waylaid.

So now, it is a big

market full of bars and

restaurants that cater to the most hardcore carnivours out.

Palabras mi gusta

Words i like...

emplastarse...get smeared

with.

persona aficionada que

acompana a un grupo

de musica moderna...

groupie.

gorgojoso/mugriento...

grubbie.

rudioso...noisy.

rompio...broken, stuffed.

espumajear...foam at

the mouth.

bombachas...ladies

underwear.

disfraz/disfrazar...disguise.

exprimidera de naranjas...orange squeezer.

tormenta....storm.

pelota...balls/derogatory...  el es un peloto.

susurro...whisper

and Madelene arrived from Brazil

Late one Sunday night

Ezeiza International

Airport, Bs As.

Madelene arrives in

Buenos Aires after

three weeks in the

sun in Brazil.

Intent on saving my

pesos i took Colectivo 8

to the airport.

Three hours later, two

bread rolls and a

small bottle of water, i made it. Sure as hell was glad when Madelene shouted us the fast bus back to town.

the Best Book Store

Don't know the 

address of this

kooky cool

bookstore in

Montevideo, cos

Madelene has got

the MAP!

Walked passed this

place on my way

back to the bus

station and had to

hang out and take

photos.

Books entwined with

plants and a glass

ceiling. Lets have one

of these back in

Dunedin.... We will also need coffee and a printing press and some Murga costumes and drums and empanadas and tango and milongas and, and, and.....

Honeydew melon?

Fruit and Vegetable Market

Montevideo

I love how you can walk

around the corner of

a street and stumble

across something like this.

Last run across the border

Casa el Solis?

Montevideo

Uruguay

Main Plaza

Raced, or boated and bused

to Montevideo for a night.

March 11 and 12. Just

two days before the 

90 day visa ran out.

Great city, but really

expensive as i was

plying Argentinian pesos

so the exchange was

not favourable.

Had a fabulous time

wandering around the old city.

Made a bee-line for the Museo de Carnival. Uruguay has a long tradition of....Murgas...quite spectacular. Needless to say i took HEAPS of photos for joy and future inspiration.....

RED

60 or so pot plants,

Estrella Federal they

call them here.

Poinsettia to us

in English.

Every day i would

make designs or

spell out words 

on the pavement...

along with banana

skins. This day was

la plabra rojo.

Red.

aburrida....con piel de banana

Bored with Banana Skin

In front of the

florist stall

one afternoon

of not much

flower selling.

I would get some

regulars come along

a practice their

English, and

Carlos the

paseador de perros

or dog walker

would buy me coffees

and muffins and flirt

outrageously with his

gorgeous eyes and smile.

Ah those Argentine men are terrible flirts!

La Florista

Avenida Federico Lacroze

Tienda de flores

con Alicia

For three weeks i

was 'la florista' 

while 'el florista' was

somewhere in

Uruguay having a

holiday.

Long hours for

not much pay, but

met lots of cool

people and practiced

'mi lamentable hablar

castellano'. They were

very kind and patient with me and it turns out that

 lots could speak English....better than my Spanish.

Once a week i would take colectivo 59(along with all the other sleepy commuters at 6am) to the Mercado de Flores, the flower market on the other side of town. Trundling my suitcase with wheels and prepared to haggle for flowers. Well, in theory. Turns out when they spoke rapidly to me i would go into shell shock and forget all the words i was trying to say. Anyway, i managed to fill up the suitcase with an assortment of blooms that i hoped would sell, and catch bus 59 back again.

what Portenos do on a weekend

Under a tree

just up from the

runway of

Aeroparque

Jorge Newbery.

On fine weekends

you can find masses

of people hanging

out watching local

planes take off and

land. So close you

could almost touch

the underbellies of them.

Not easy trying to capture an image with a small digital camera that has a three second delay on the shutter. Manged to soak up a lot of av gas in the process.

Murga chasers

The last of the Murga 

pictures i promise.

 Hendrik is a Dutch guy

that was living in front of 

the florist stall.

He also became a 

dedicated Murga fan.

This is what you look

like after half a

 can of  'espuma'

Never look up when

someone says

"look here"

Murga costumes

Murga dancer

avenida corrientes

Buenos Aires

Not hard to see

why i like Murgas.

Not only the music

and dancing, but

the costumes are

gorgeous.

Have been given

the directions to

places to buy the

glittery sequined 

patches that

adorn the coat-

tails.

 

Bombos....sleeping

More Murga

pics.

Bombos, the

drums,

at rest

while 

another

group

takes

centre

stage

or, in

this case

the middle

of the

road

Murga

Avenida Corrientes

Buenos Aires

late one Saturday night

This guy, the ringleader

of his Murga band

would have to be one

of my favourites.

They rocked the crowd

with their crazy beats.

Not to forget the

dancers that made you

tired just looking 

at them. I've had three

weekends of Murgas now

and am a dedicated fan.

Went last Saturday night

with a mate, Hendrik, and he bought a can of espuma (foam). Now that really took it up to another level. Had a great foam fight with some kids and  some serious espuma over Hendrik. Wished i hadn't looked up when he said 'look'. We need Murgas in New Zealand. Alas, the season is over and i am at a loss at where to go on a Saturday night that is mad wild, free and full of  music and dancers and people.

masa critica

Avenida 9 de Julio

Buenos Aires

The first Sunday of every

month, thousands of 

locals gather by the

Obelisk with their

bikes and set out on

a mass bike ride

for 4-5 hours.

I tried uploading my

short video clip that

i put sound to...

but i don't know where

it went to. Damn.

A great experience of

people and solidarity where

bikes rule the roads for a brief span of time. Lots of pimped up bicis and guys with some serious wired for sounds strapped to the back carrier, or totally amped up with a stack of speakers on a trailer type thingy attached to the back wheel. i followed the guy with the small peavy amp playing quirky carnival type sounds.

check out 'Murga" Buenos Aires on you tube...

Street Art

La Boca

Buenos Aires

Some people chase storms,

i now chase 'Murgas'

My second weekend

 hunting down these

carnivals Argentininan

style. (also Uruguay)

I'm in love. These

groups are fabulous!

The drums - bombos-

with the cymbal on top

are feet-itch-ingly

fabulous. I can't get

enough of this. i will

be out next week-end at another location to get my fix of these groups. 

The costumes are fabulous, the dancing hypnotic and the sound

 and sight of these carnival-iers is totalmente addictive.

You Tube 'Murga' and become entranced! would love to do something

 like this in Dunedin...so calling all Murga wanna-be's...

and dust off  your favouite costumes and whistles and drums and sequins 

and feathers and drum and and and...

introducing.....La Florista...

Avenida Federico Lacroze

Belgrano

Buenos Aires

Hola mi amigos

i am now working

for a couple of

weeks while Julio,

el florista is away

on vacations

somewhere in 

Uruguay.

So i am officially

La Florista. Two days solo now, busy selling flowers in Spanish with pointing fingers. Luckily a lot of people speak some English too, but it is improving my Spanish

 (hopefully) in the meantime.

I paint pictures on the footpath with poinsettia plants. Yesterday was a '?', today i think i will make an "@"

Parque Memoria

Parque Memoria

Memorial Park

Costanera Norte

North Coast

Buenos Aires

A sculpture set in

the murky waters

of the Rio de la

Plata. It

memorializes the

thousands of people

whose bodies were

thrown into the river

during the military

dictatorship of the 70's.

Parque Memoria, Buenos Aires

Memorial Park

Costanera Norte

North Coast

Buenos Aires

Road signs 

advising directions

taken. Not forgotten.

It is a chilling

installation dedicated

to remembering

and dealing with

the past.

complicit

Costanera Norte

North Coast

Buenos Aires

Another road sign

in the installation.

I have to 

remember my

blog posts work

backwards.

See the post

two postcards

on and all will

be revealed.

But this is the sign that advertises US complicity and designs for Latin America. It's notorious School of the Americas.

homage to the disappeared

Costanera Norte.

North coast of

Buenos Aires.

A road sign to 

the disappeared.

One of a collection

of signs in an 

installation situated

in the Memorial

Park.

An estimated 30,000

people 'disappeared'

during the military

dictatorship.

Parque Memorial....

The Memorial Park on the

North coast of 

Buenos Aires city.

This is the back end view 

of an art installation

 that uses the format

 of road signs

to explore 

Argentina's dark history

under the millitary

dictatorship in the 70's.

It is a powerful 

and thoughtful

 collaborative work.

The park has a number of installations that explore this theme. I have a link that i will post that explains the brief and the artists response. But i have left that at home..

an aficionado of signs

Somewhere near the coast

just off busy Avenida

Liberatador,

Buenos Aires.

Whizzing past on my bike

i screeched  to a halt

and back peddled

when i saw this sign.

I wonder how much it

costs for a night at

Hotel Etc. Etc?

mi bici......my bike

This is my bike. Well my loaned bike

from Gustavo, a student from

last year.

The pic was taken during

that fateful adventure.

Now, however, i hoon

around the mad streets of

Buenos Aires, looking

both ways, side ways and

nowdays, up.

Last week i got poo-ed on

by an anonymous bird.

It hit me heavily and warmly

with some degree of splatter.

'Its is lucky,' everyone

said. I'm not sure of the

size of the bird, but judging

by the remains, i'm sure it must have been a pterodactyl.

It's quite lovely biking around the wide tree laned streets with my picnic lunch and a book, exploring the city and dodging the traffic. I have set myself the task of photographing lots of graffiti art that populates and invigorates the neighborhoods. Yesterday i got lost in Chacarita, a huge sprawling cemetery, and was fearful of not getting out before closing time and having to spend the night locked in with all the spooks. Got out just in time to be caught in the middle of a Tormenta! A big kick-arse storm they have here. Totally soaking wet in a matter of minutes. Fabulous!

hanging out on a lazy Saturday

Life returns happily to

normal. Normalish.

This is one of my

work mates and fellow

teacher Diana, with her

son Nico. We had

a lovely lazy day

at her place

yesterday, eating yummy

vegetarian pies, watching

her 55 year old tortoise

harass the dog, and

 quietly watching a

 regular little hummingbird visitor sipping nectar from purple,

 red and yellow flowers from its long slender beak.

si, mi gusta Carlos el perro-nista....

Back in Capital Federal.

Buenos Aires.

A day or two later,

lots of sleep and

some regular meals

can improve a

woman's outlook

no end.

And i keep running

into Carlos,el

guapo hombre who 

walks dogs for a living.

'Oh no,' you say.

'Not again.'

check your equipment lesson #101

Somewhere south of

 La Plata

on the side of the road.

The first of two

bucked wheels and

more that a dozen 

punctures.

While i was packing

a new spare tube

and a repair kit,

Senor Quixote had

an inner tube that

looked as old

as Adam.

 Complete with a patchwork quilt of repairs already.

 He assured me the tube was only a month old.

lucky i bought my VEGEMITE

You can just about survive

 anything so long as you 

pack your faithfull

 jar of VEGEMITE.

It's amazing how it 

can turn a crappy

 day around.

This was one of the

 two days that was ok.

Camped by the 

Rio de la Plata,

60kms away from the

 city of La Plata.

This was as far

 south as we made it.

I woke on the Sunday morning to the sound of people kicking

a ball around, close to the tent.

Imagine my surprise when i opened the tent flap and discovered around 100 people had arrived with their kids and eskys and chairs and BBQ's and set up for the balmy day. Too funny.

Bleary eyed and busting for a pee, i had to pretend i was casually going for a morning swim. Even though the tide was out and deep water was miles away.

a nice sleep beside a busy roundabout...

This was where i slept the first night

of the 30 day bicicleta aventura 

that lasted a total of 6 days and

achieved only 60 kilometres.

After biking for 6 hours the

first day and into the night, i

discovered we had gone in

a large circle and ended

up 4kms from where we

started from....

At 2am i called it quits and

after a few choice

expletives settled for this

spot to sleep.

i woke, at 7am, one eye swollen

half shut from a mosquito bite,

to the sound of el florista calling

my name and rush hour traffic hurtling through the roundabout behind me.

no me gusta el florista...

It was a bit like Don Quixote and 

Sancho Panza. While i did name my

bike Rocinante, Don's horse,

it turned out i was more like

Sancho, while el florista

was definately tilting at

windmills.

Ironically, this mural on

a brick wall was just

around the corner from

his place, and i took this

picture on the morning

of the great bicycle

adventure that went

Horribly Wrong.

stay tuned for the 

short story.

Mercardo del flores.

The Flower Market.

Barracas

Buenos Aires.

Take bus number 59 from

Belgrano....really early in

the morning, and doze for

about an hour, and at the end

of the route, you will find

yourself at the flower

market where all the 

street vendors come to

haggle over the cost of...

roses, lilies, sunflowers,

gerbras, chrysanthemums, you

name it, it's there. Glorious.

I'm off to Mar de Plata tomorrow, Thursday our time. By bike....

With el florista, Julio, a tent, sunblock and all the camping accoutrements. This will be an adventure. My blog maybe slightly variable, and a little tardy. Perhaps. 

I'll keep you posted. Besos y abrazos mi amigos. xoxox

flaming birthday cakes......

A feliz cumpleanos cake

24th December

at Ingrid's home.

This is the second flaming birthday cake

i've experienced. They don't muck around

with candles, you just set the

fireworks in the middle alight

and gape in amazement.

Totally impressed!

And all this in 48 degree heat.

The Cartoneros of Buenos Aires

This is a picture of one of hundred of carts, or trollies that the Cartoneros use to collect the cardboard and recyclables

 from the streets of Buenos Aires.

Not to be confused with the Eloise Cartoneras, the publishing group. They buy the cardboard for the covers from the 

cartoneros and a good price per kilo.

It's hard, still, to come to grips with this sight.

At all hours of the day and night, men and women and some

with kids are hauling these carts earning their living the hard way.

One day, when i was in the bus, it cut in front of a guy pulling a massive load. It was a hot day,and he had just gained momentum when the bus halted his progress. The frustration on his face as he yelled at the driver was real .Heartbreaking. And unforgettable.

painting book covers in the street

Painting book covers in

Diagonal Norte

Buenos Aires

December 8th

A big day in Captial Federal, where

everyone took to the streets

to celebrate 30 years of

democracy with miles of

stalls featuring Argentinain

made products and services.

Lots of groups thronged into Plaza de Mayo, the

main square in the city centre, and where the pink house, Casa Rosada is.

 The Argentine version of the white house. Masses, and i mean masses of people thronged the city centre, groups with their flags and banners and of course the drummers all marched in to celebrate. A massive stage was erected to play host to a number of late night bands. 

It was a hot day and kids were playing in the fountains, men wandering around with eskys selling helados (ice-cream) and as wave upon wave of individual groups marched noisily past, i wondered where everyone would fit. The Eloise Cartoneras were there with their stall. We were there to sell books and asist with people painting the covers of their free book; an anthology of poetry and politics, kindly sponsored by the government. It was a fabulous day, hot and chaotic, just the way i like it.