Today we arrived in Buenos Aires Argentina, one step closer to Antarctica. Yesterday it was 90, today it was 70 with random spurts of rain that wasn’t worth getting the umbrella out for. So the weather is a lot liked Kansas, but in reverse. Its spring here and the Jacaranda trees are full of beautiful purple flowers. I wish I had a Jacaranda tree in my yard! It would be so lovely with the bright purple trim on my house. My old house. My new house is beige for the time being. Yuck!

Getting out of the airport in Buenos Aires is a hot mess mostly due to the fact that they love to make you wait in lines (like the Black Friday checkout line of Kohl’s kind of line but without all of the fun shopping). We had to wait in line for close to an hour and a half just to go through passport control, and we didn’t even get a $5 crockpot or $7 sweater. But the good thing about that is we didn’t have to watch with bated breath as everyone’s suitcase but ours spits out on the conveyor belt while wondering if ours made it to the same destination as us, or if our luggage took the scenic route to Lithuania because by the time we were done all of the luggage was neatly lined up on the floor waiting for us. I guess now is a good time to mention that horror of horrors, we had to pack an extra suitcase! It is quite impossible to get all of the long johns, fleece lined pants, mountaineering boots, gloves, glove liners, waterproof pants, waterproof jacket, neck gaiters, stocking cap, wool socks, sock liners, hand warmers, toe warmers, trekking poles, and penguin hoody necessary for a trip to Antarctica in just one suitcase. I didn’t even have room for snacks in the first suitcase! So together we have 3 suitcases which makes maneuvering anywhere, especially into a tiny hotel elevator, a little difficult.

Despite all of the airport chaos, we had a very successful first day. We made it to the hotel by 12:30 and didn’t have to wait for a room to be cleaned. So then we were able to hop in a taxi and grab a quick lunch before our Graffiti walking tour at 3 o’clock. For lunch we had Argentian hamburgers. There are tons of hamburger places around. We may have eaten a cheeseburger, but it was a damn good cheeseburger made with authentic Argentinian beef.

Somehow our 2 hour walking tour took almost 3 hours, but it was a good tour. We absolutely adore graffiti tours. Here in Argentina a lot of the graffiti is politically motivated, which I won’t go into. But, apparently there are no laws against graffiti. They are big on poster art here– they print their artwork on posters and slap it on a wall. Since it is paper, it is much more temporary in nature than spray paint. And, it can be much more universal since you can print works from all over the world. Also popular is to paint the sides of businesses- like butterflies on the side of a florist shop.

By the time we were done we were equally ravenous and exhausted. So, this part is for my mother’s benefit, you know how she worries that we don’t eat enough when we travel. Our guide had pointed out a place that has the best choripan in the city. (chorizo + pan = sausage and bread, so a sausage sandwich) I’m not a huge sausage fan, but I was hungry, it was close, it was fast, and it was highly recommended, so that’s what we ate. We got the guava choripan. It had guava sauce and plantain chips! When in doubt always go for the plantain chip option. Someone PLEASE open a restaurant or food truck that puts plantain chips or fried bananas on EVERYTHING! Thetwinsontour love plantain chips!

So for the culinary review: it was literally a big fat sausage cut in half on a bun with the aforementioned ingredients plus lettuce (iceberg, not romaine) and a tomato. Do you know what happens when you put lettuce and condiments on a sandwich? It slides all over the place. It was one of the slipperiest sandwiches I have ever eaten, and I made a mess eating my lopsided sandwich. The sausage was mild and tasty. The plantain chips are really what set this apart though! Always plantain chips. Always.

So after that we hopped a taxi back to the hotel, found a supermarket to buy candy and yogurt for breakfast (the yogurt, not the candy) and an ATM. Unfortunately that took much longer and involved more steps and backtracking than anticipated. But we spotted a place we want to try for dinner tomorrow.

Goodbye for now from Argentina!

love,

thetwinsontour