Wednesday, May 28, 2014

"Dispatches from the Pampas"...Day 20...Tuesday, February 25, 2014

I "sleep in" until almost 8:00. After a shower, I get dressed and head out for breakfast. There's a little cafe/bakery a few blocks from the hotel, and I head there for an order of churros and several cups of coffee con leche...and a cigar.
Thus fortified, I hit the road for the last leg to Buenos Aires. As always, my Garmin guides me effortlessly through the heavy traffic in the city...right back to the rental car office. A short cab ride later, I am back at the Bel Air hotel. It's early afternoon, so I've got time to hike a mile or so to a street near the port where a number of souvenir shops are located. I buy a ball cap, some t-shirts, a bumper sticker, a few refrigerator magnets...the usual. I "bar hop" my way back to the hotel.
Around 8:00 or so, I'm really hungry, so I cab back to the nice little Asian restaurant, Osaka, where I had such a great lunch some days before. They're packed tonight, but I squeeze into a seat at the bar. Soon, I'm digging into small plates of ceviche, sushi and dumplings...all washed down with several excellent glasses of Torrontes. My bartender lived in Chicago and Miami for awhile, so we have a nice chat.
After dinner, I thirsty for a beer, so I walk from the restaurant in search of a friendly tavern. I manage to stumble upon what is assuredly the absolutely "diviest" bar in all of Buenos Aires. It's dark inside and, upon sitting at the small bar, I am immediately befriended by two young ladies of "strumpet-like: character and demeanor. I get a beer and order my new "friends" a round of drinks. They prove to be quite "friendly", and I might have stayed awhile had I not noticed them at one point huddled with the menacing-looking bartender in the back of the bar...glancing furtively at me and speaking in hushed tones. Yep...time to bolt. Back on the street, I am lucky to flag down a cab almost immediately.
Back at the hotel, I ask for a 4:30AM wake up call. My ferry to Uruguay leaves tomorrow at 7:30AM and check-in is at 6:30.

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