Post-trip; back in California

Well, we're back, Back In The USSA.

It was a loong day yesterday, over 14 hours of flying. The customs line was long in Miami; what a pain in the derrier. We met Diana's father (Murray) and friend (Ron Gold). We had breakfast together before our flight back to SF. Unfortunately, we missed that flight, but fortunately were able to book another one in the afternoon. It was good spending more time in Miami. Thanks to Murray for showing us around the Miami area.

A few reflections about our trip to Argentina and Uruguay.

I'll remember the friendliness of the Argentinian and Uruguayian people. There are some tender souls in those countries. We saw some fine places and had some nice experiences.

Argentina isn't a service-oriented country. Things don't operate too efficiently there, though it appears this is due, in part, to the economic crisis from over 3 years ago. They haven't recovered from that.

Yet Argentinians have a lot of life, and their capital city is filled with it. Buenos Aires is fast paced with motorists and pedestrians everywhere. We'll never forget the cars weaving between the lanes (when there were clearly marked lanes to begin with). I'll never forget the kids who would juggle at intersections while cars would wait for their lights to turn green. We'll remember the gentleman singing Opera on Florida St, expressively moving one hand, with a cigarette resting in the other. And of course, there's the widest Avenue in the world capped with the Obelisk. Diana certainly will recall that LaCoste shirts are still in vogue. And then there are the sweet children begging for money.

There are so many buildings with Colonial architecture; they all are interesting to view and are filled with so much history. It's the city of Evita, Jorge Luis Borges, Jacobo Timmerman, and, unfortunately, also Adolph Eichmann. So much history, so much to learn. We loved La Boca with its colorful houses. We enjoyed walking around Recoleta, a beautiful area of the city. And we ended our trip in that most unique of Argentinian places, the Recoleta cemetary.

It was a good thing we diversified on this trip. Going to Punta de Este was a great move (thanks Murray for suggesting this). Uruguay appears to be more efficient, with better customer service. The beaches are great there. We loved walking in the residential areas, seeing the grand houses in Beverly Hills in Punta. Montevideo is a lively city.

And going to Bariloche -- a beautiful region of Argentina. As I previously said, imagine Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, and Mt. Shasta all in one area. The lake(s) go on and on and on. It's a lake, with an island, with more lake, with another island or two, surrounded with beautiful snow-capped mountains -- in the midst of their summer. The boat ride on Nahuel Huapi and the drive around the lakes were great. And then there's Mt. Tronador. For me, the nature tour to Tronador was the high point of the trip.

We'll remember Argentina and Uruguay. It was our first experience in South American. Diana was able to converse in Spanish (though understanding the double l's and pronouncing them as "sha" was challenging).

We say goodbye for now. Happy New Years.