Good Airs

We spent our first full day in Buenos Aires today, and everything that I heard about the Argentine capital is true. The city is vaguely reminiscent of both New York and Paris, but with that distinctive South American feel. We´ve settled in temporary residency at Hostel Carlos Gardel, a charming old buiding with red painted walls in the heart of San Telmo. Our compañeros are a thoroughly international bunch, including a friendly Spanish character and a long haired Italian.
Today we through caution to the wind and throughly acted the part of the touristas, snapping photos of the monuments and the European architecture, chatting in English and sampling shoes at the many stores in the Microcenter. It was hot and the sunshine was a welcome respite from the last two days of pure rainy misery in Viña, so we peeled off the layers and reveled in this sense of vacation.
We wandered the streets of Buenos Aires today, getting lost and finding our way again, through San Telmo and the bustling Centro, up into Recoleta (which is just as ritzy as the guidebook promised, in an Upper East Side sort of way). We´re awaiting the arrival of our fourth blonde-haired travel mate, the always interesting Lilia, in which time the drunken splendor of this party capital will come into full effect.
Uruguay is on the horizon, and it´s likely that next week we´ll cross the water and find ourselves in the little country sandwiched between Brazil and Argentina. I think this will be one of the things I miss the most about this whole experience, the ease with which we travel and move around the continent. "Pinche gringas!" the mexicanos always say, "Siempre estan viajando a todos partes!" And its true, that we´re blessed with the ability to pack our bags and go, disfrutarlo y tener grandes experiencias. Our classroom, quite literally, is the South American continent, and the infinite variety of the land here.
Que suerte, si?