It is late summer here. Approximately 27C degrees each day. Then there’s the humidity. It’s heavy in the morning, causing the 4-block walk to the office to turn into brief episode of sweat. The humidity lifts by mid day and we are greeted with the pleasant aromas of food wafting through the sidewalks that border the restaurants selling their goods.Argentina is known for its beef. I landed 100 hours ago and already have had my ration of red meat for the next three months. It’s better than the Argentine beef I frequently consumed while in Brazil. In addition to the traditional cuts of meat, I partook in consuming sweetbreads, kidneys, and other various innards. Then there is the wine. The most expensive bottle in the supermarket will cost me 30 ARS (Approximately $10 USD). This bottle would cost me more than $90 back home—I’ve seen it on the rack but have not splurged. It’s wonderful…a true delight at day’s end to sit by the hotel pool, pour myself a glass (or two), enjoy the late setting sun, looking out at the city beyond.
Buenos Aires has been called the “Paris of South America.” To be honest, it’s not quite Paris, but it is close. Many parts remind me of the Rio de Janerio neighbourhood called Lapa. There’s classic architecture with ornate windows, statues, and sconces, surrounded by the modern hustle and bustle of any major metropolitan city—the subway station’s ebb and flow of people, the busy streets filled with the rhythmic hum of traffic, the distant sound of sirens quickly moving through the streets, the graffiti artist’s latest work proudly displayed for all to enjoy.
Then there the keys. Yes, as in lock and key. They are old fashioned skeleton keys, quaint and wonderful in an old-world sort of way. The double-pronged squares jut out of long cylinder, anchored at the opposite end by a distorted circle. Gently, you place the key inside its mate lock, and turn. In truth, there is nothing different about the process used with the lasered keys I am accustomed to, but the old fashioned keys intrigue me. The simplicity, the remembrance of different age and different time.
48 more hours to enjoy the late summer in Buenos Aires. It beats the winter coat and boots I was wearing last week in Toronto and the fierce wind I will face in Omaha, Nebraska next week.
