The last blog was about me and Lilach. It didn't really give me the chance to talk about Argentina or what I've been doing for the past couple of weeks or what developments there have been in my travel plans or any of that bullshit that no one really gives a fuck about. So here it is now instead.
Starting where I left off two blogs ago, Villa Carlos Paz, well it was shit. Trying to be Vegas (which is shit in its own right), just lacking the flash and the wow and the big which makes me hate Vegas in the first place. This was a shit immitation of something which I already thought was shit. That's how shit it was. And overpriced. So I left here after a night and was back in Cordoba where I discovered tenedor libres or however the fuck you spell it. Something that Argentina's famous for. An all-you-can-eat buffet to a normal-speaking person.
You know that I honestly wouldn't have believed it possible had I not done it, to eat for two-and-a-half straight hours. Something like 10 plates of various sizes. The food's a bit shit. But it is basically a case of the more you eat, the cheaper it gets. So who gives a fuck what it tastes like? It's all food. And it's a free-for-all. It kind of made me not completely dislike Argentina anymore.
That being said, prior to this I had come up with a couple of new entries to the Argentina Retard List.
In part 1 of the Argentina retard-list, you were introduced to the concept of tipping a retard, who stands there in front of a huge line of taxis, and expects a tip for hailing one of them for you.
Introducing now, the retard that takes your bag out of the taxi at the other end, and expects a tip for that.
We arrived at the bus station in Cordoba, and before we knew what was going on, a retard had emerged as if from nowhere. He had taken our bags out from the taxi, and was now standing there waiting for a tip.
Had we had the time to realise what was going on, we would have said something along the lines of "fuck off retard. We can get our own bags. We're not retards." But the retard was too fast. So instead I feel obligated to give the little fella something.
For the service of moving our bags the huge distance of 1 yard from the taxi to the floor, I figure that 50¢ is more than sufficient. Yet on taking the money from my hand, the retard demands that I give him another 50¢, to which I refuse.
Not only is he not thankful to be paid for a service that we could quite happily, and would in fact have preferred to do ourselves. But the retard then tuts, mutters something under his breath, and storms off. Like petulant child.
It doesn't bother you immediately when that happens. But for some reason, you just think about it. Any kind of hostility, however mild, you just think about it. And as it turns out, the retard can really affect your mood. Puts you in a bad fucking mood.
I fucking hate Argentina.
Cordoba bus station, it's not small. Has buses running throughout the night. Over 50 bays and departure points. So you would think that buying essentials for a long bus journey like, I don't know, a bottle of water, would not be an issue. Afterall, if this was Bolivia, not only would there be about a hundred different vendors in the bus station, but a load more would stand by the bus at any stop it makes trying to sell you things through the window, or they'd sometimes even be let onto the bus. Here though, you try fucking buying a bottle of water in the late-evening in Cordoba bus station. There's only a few hundred passengers here. It's not like there's much money to be made (they aren't exactly strong on the concept of business in these parts).
Enter the 12 peso bottle of water. The only place in this entire bus station that's open, is a bar. Yes, there's enough people here that there's a bar that's open, and doing good business. There is no vendors though. So your choice? Pay 12 pesos for a bottle of fucking water (it should be less than 3), or have to leave the bus station and go searching elsewhere.
Now that, is fucking retarded. Even in the US, the king of the retards and the worst bus service in the world, you could find a vending machine or something in even the smallest and most insignificant of bus stations.
Here though, it's 12 fucking pesos. 25 bolivianos. Fucking retards.
Despite all of that talk about retards and about how Argentina and Argentinian's are all fucking retarded, I have grown to like Argentina somewhat since writing over two weeks ago.
Cordoba was nice. And that was followed by the not completely shit Rosario where we had four nights living in amongst the hippies at the aptly-named Freedom Hostel.
I think that by this point I was starting to appreciate that this wasn't Bolivia, and so I could not expect it to offer all of the same things that made Bolivia so great. So when I started looking at Argentina in it's own right, as it's own country, it came across as not totally, completely, absolutely shit.
Rosario was a nice, very overpriced, developed city. Had four days here and was not bored for four days here. Especially entertaining were the humerous artefacts detailing 'Malvenas por siempre Argentinas' (The Falkland Islands will always be Argentina's).
Hahahahaha, they do have a sense of humour these onion bhaji's, you have to say that. Shouldn't have lost the fucking war if you're going to bitch and moan about it. Even on maps that you buy in Argentina the Falklands are labelled as 'Malvenas (Arg)'. It's pathetic it really is.
I'm never going to take joy in seeing Germany win a football game (or a tiddlywinks competition for that matter). But I did take some real satisfaction when we watched them beat the Argie's on a big screen in the town, just about a couple of hundred yards for these Malvenas monuments. It made Germany winning 4-0 actually quite humerous to me.
I don't even know why we keep hold of the Falkland Islands. It's worth it though, just because it's funny to see all the Argie's bitching and moaning about it. It's genius. That'll show them for expecting me to tip them for putting my fucking bag on the bus.
Rosario was only a hilarious four-night stop, where the best thing about staying with hippies is they only remember to charge you for three of those nights. After that it was onto BA, which really was the place to make me change my opinion from Argentina being completely shit, to Argentina not being completely shit.
It's a big fucking place. 13 million people or something like that. I don't know how that compares to London and it's still a puppy compared to Mexico City which I visited back in '08, but for places that I've visited in the past few months, BA's a monster. And a fun monster at that.
A week here and I was never bored. On me and Lilach's final night togther we went out for what was supposed to be a romantic final evening together, instead ending up at this bustling meat restaurant. But perhaps this served the occasion even better. Argentina knows meet. And it was just a fun, fun place.
I'm not a big fan of those pretentious, fancy places anyway. Here you can just be yourself.
Also in BA... my goodness. Where to start. It's a city that you won't get bored in. Perhaps though the two things that I'll remember BA for more than any others, don't have anything to do with BA at all.
The first if obviously that this is the place where I said goodbye to Lilach, crying for the first time in over a decade. The end of this era was accompanied by very possibly the start of the next, as I got, and had a job interview for a ski-resort up in Utah in the US.
It was a couple of days of very mixed emotions, as the obvious heart-break of leaving BA alone and the steps it took to get there, were mirrored in time by taking huge strides to getting my first proper job in what will be by then, over a year and a half.
The ski-resort in Utah that I've talked about previously, well they emailed me asking for an interview. After a couple of days of arranging it took a slightly pricey long-distance phone call on my part to have a 25-minute converstaion with the lift-operations manager at 'The Canyons' resort. And I'm setting myself up for a fall by saying this, but I would be fucking amazed if they don't offer me a job.
Not only because I'm the best person in the world at blagging my way into stuff. But by the way that "Deidre" was talking. She even said to me that with my previous experience, I will be one of the first people to start the season... if I get the job of course. And she told me all the ins and outs that I'll have to go through to get a place to live for when I get there... if I get the job. She even asked me the types of lifts I like to work etc, and told me that my application was going on the A-list. So unless she really was playing me, I have a job in Utah in the US starting early December working the ski-lifts.
I'll look like a massive twat now when I don't get the job.
That being said, on the assumption that a job is offered, it doesn't mean that I'll be working there. Getting the job was the first obstacle. Getting the visa is the second. Getting insurance is the third.
I need to visit with a US consulate to get a US work visa. She was unsure if I am able to do that in South America or if I have to go home. And if I can do it in South America, I'm not even sure that they speak English. Because I looked on a US government website, and next to all the US consulates in South America was written in brackets (espanol).
So that's the next obstacle. Can I visit a consulate here, and if I can, will they even grant me the visa?
Perhaps even harder though, is that my insurance runs out next November, and I'll be damned if I'm going to ski in the US without insurance. Cannot renew the insurance that I already have and I getting nomad insurance is not cheap. To the point that I'm even entertaining the prospect that it could be cheaper to go home for a couple of weeks, buy insurance, and then fly back to the US. That's how much money nomad insurance could cost me.
Going home for a week or two, I don't want to do if I can help it. But to get a visa, to get insurance... maybe it would be worth it. Because of course there are other advantages. Get to see family. I've been waiting for a year and a half to get my retard-knee looked at in a country where I can get it done for free. If nothing else, my skiing goggles are in the UK, as is my extreme sports camera and some clothing that was invaluable to me in my season at Panorama.
If it was necessary for the job, I'm not saying that I would and I'm not saying that I wouldn't, but it's possible that I could go home for a couple of weeks before the Winter. Or I could just say fuck the job, and go to New Zealand instead. All that I know right now, is that the interview went great, and unless I was being truly mislead, I expect to be offered a job at The Canyons at some point in the near future. Whether it materialises or not remains to be seen.
Perhaps it's a little insulting to BA that my primary two memories from there could have happened in any city in the world. But that's the way that it was.
One other thing to add to the coincidence list, is that not once, but twice on Avenida 9 de Julio I ran into a Dutch guy that you might remember I was sharing a dorm with for over a week on my first stint in La Paz. At the time he had a Canadian girlfriend he was with. Now he has a Colombian one. And the last time I saw him, they were leaving La Paz together en route to Cuzco and Machu Picchu. And yet here in BA, on Avenida 9 de Julio, which is one big fucking street if you've never seen it, we run into each other on consecutive days. I shouldn't exactly be surprised with this shit anymore... but I am.
Yesterday after a night bus, I arrived alone in the Northern Argentinian city of Resistencia, where on arrival I was toying with the idea of perhaps spending some time in the nearby national parks, or instead scheduling a stop in the city of Formosa. Feeling the cold of last night however, the former could be trying, and in reading about Formosa again, it sounds shit. So my expectation is that Resistencia is to be my final stop in Argentina. I arrived expecting three nights. But it's a bit shit and there's no cheap accomodation, so as early as tomorrow I could be setting-off for Paraguay.
It doesn't sound all that if I'm honest. Unfriendly and dangerous. But if it gets me away from paying Argentinian prices, then who the fuck cares? It's another country to tick off the list.
I no longer consider Argentina to be completely and absolutely shit. But I don't feel the need to stay here and keep on paying their prices. It could be Asuncion as soon as tomorrow. Maybe I'll go back to Argentina to visit Iguazú. Maybe not. Amazing but pricey is the feeling that I get about that. Although catching the buses in Paraguay rather than Argentina to get there could make it significantly more affordable.
If I don't, then three or four stops in Paraguay will likely be the maximum, before all roads lead back to Bolivia baby! And not a moment too soon. What lies ahead when I get there?
Who gives a fuck, I'll be back in Bolivia baby!
Meeting Lilach again would be a dream. But we'll have to see if it comes true. If not, then perhaps the big-cat sanctuary. Although being off-the-grid for a month or longer concerns me as I go about trying to arrange a job for the Winter. So maybe not.
Basically if I get this job, I have about 4 months from now to kill in South America before needing to go back to the US. Don't really know how I'll spend it. If I don't get the job, then perhaps I'll leave even sooner when I can still go to New Zealand whilst I have the green in my pocket to afford it.
I didn't realise it until I saw today how dull Resistencia is, but this could be my last full day in Argentina. Next up Paraguay.