Culture Time

This week, some friends here were expecting a couple to visit them from California but due to an expired passport, they didn't make the trip. Our friends had lined up a number of local activities for them. Instead of cancelling them, we have been invited to partake in some of the events. It was a great opportunity for us and it will also help us organize visits from our own friends and family.

Last night's event was dinner and a show at restaurante 'La Pena del Colorado' on Guemes. We took a radiotaxi there. The driver practiced his English and we destroyed Spanish in our attempt to give him directions to the restaurant!

The restaurant profiles cuisine from all parts of Argentina and on most nights, there is entertainment. We arrived for the 9 pm reservation and the place was virtually empty. Dinner is enjoyed late here and even later on weekends.

Following our dinner, they had a great band with a lead singer who ended the show with two encores. It was a lot of fun.

The rest of the story.....

The evening began with me unwittingly starting a fire in the restaurant. I was reading the program of performers for the month and when I finished, I put it down on the table. Unfortunately, I had dropped it on top of a votive candle and it caught fire. Mimi came to the rescue and ended my embarrassment (and the fire).

I noticed that I was not the first person to do this as most of the vinyl covered menu's had melt marks on them from the candles!

We very much enjoyed the meal and have probably found the best place to enjoy one of our favorite wines - a St Felicien Malbec. I say the best place to enjoy it, as it was only $60 pesos/bottle.

B.

THE wedding.....

I am just getting caught up at work back here in Argentina so I havent been able to put much time into the blog but Katie & Devin's wedding weekend was an awesome event for all of us. The pictures are in somewhat of a random order but there was no randomness to Katie and Devin's plans for the weekend.

Here is Katie and some of her pals....this was part of the dinner at the Calgary Zoo. I think there was some thought behind choices of outfits....

We were fortunate to have all of my siblings and Mom here for the wedding. Our new in-laws Peter & Cindy hosted two events for us on Thursday and Friday night and it was great for everyone to get (re)acquainted.

Meet two generations of Lynams.....

Nana with the next generation - grandaughters Bryden & Theresa....

And yes, Nana with grandchildren (Luke & Bryden) on the dance floor! Not bad for 86!
The dinner plate chargers had multiple uses....angelic Joanne & Loc displaying their halos.

And here is Trouble - which I am already related to. Mimi and her two sisters, Anne & Dede (no, they did not wear pyjamas to the wedding).

Our new in-laws, Peter, Melissa, Devin & Cindy...

Our new son-in-law, Devin.....

What a celebration and a beautiful bride, our Katie!

This would be the mother-of-the-groom and the mother-of-the-bride with Katie.

Here's Katie with two of her bridesmaids - Mary & Charlene.....






Yes, there was some clinking of glasses and some kissing....


One regret - that the reception wasnt in Argentina. If it had been, it would still be going well into the next day....but there was a bit of western line dancing!

One casualty - I did lose my Blackberry and my prescription sunglasses. If that was the only downside of the wedding, we were truly blessed with a great event for our families and friends.



We continue to recieve photos from many who took pictures at the wedding. Digital pics are awesome and easily shared. Katie & Devin will have hundreds to enjoy.



Here is the new family: Devin & Katie Findlay & Cooper

B.

Going to the zoo, zoo, zoo

Yesterday, I went to the local Temaiken Bioparque just outside of Buenos Aires. Katie & Devin's rehearsal dinner will be at the Calgary Zoo, so I was looking for inspiration at Temaiken.

They start off the tour with a bang. Bright orange Pelicano Caribeno are squawking near the entrance. They get their colour from eating shrimp.

and these would be Pelicano Africano......The big cats were out having a good day.OK...perhaps a lazy day....Buenos Aires is a city of 10 million people. Many of them probably have never been to a farm, So there were some domesticated animals in the zoo as well. They also had a garden, I guess some people may not know where carrots and lettuce come from.

These would be African Bongos with a Secretario hanging around.

These little guys are Suricatas from Africa. I think they were huddling together to stay warm. It was a little chilly.This is the globe at the zoo entrance that floats/spins on water. Someone pointed out that if you look closely, Argentina is 'under water'......maybe its a 'crystal' ball?

We all agreed that it was a well designed, world class zoo and would recommend it to anyone to visit if they came to BA.

B.

It is winter here.....really

I am in my office in BA looking out the window to another beautiful sunny day. It is about 10 degrees out.

I was in the field for most of the week. I got there on time on Monday and returned on time on Friday. This really was a big deal.
Travel in Argentina (flying) has been very problematic with the lack of reliability with the Aerolineas Argentinas airline which consistently has delayed (by hours, not minutes) or just cancels flights. We have some staff who take the bus to the field instead - it takes 12 hours but you get there.

The Aerolineas airline was just purchased by the Argentine government from a group from Spain. This transfer has made the situation even worse.
When I got to the airport on Monday, virtually every Aerolineas flight was delayed and this is the start of the winter holiday/travelling season. If your flight was delayed, you weren't allowed through security, so there were thousands of people out in the public areas - sitting and lying around. There were camera crews filming and interviewing these delayed passengers. When you got through security, the place was empty.

LAN Chile Airlines just started flying to Neuquen a month ago....and guess who I was booked with - LAN. Sweet!
They have new A 320 planes and TV monitors every 5 rows. The one thing that had many people laughing on the plane was the showing of a couple of episodes of 'Just for Laughs'. It's the show from Montreal where they play gags on unsuspecting people on streets or in malls. It was perfect for the 80 minute flight. A cup of coffee and a little snackbox that had crackers and Aflajores (the Wagon Wheel equivalent filled with dulce de leche) and we were there.
It is still a 3 hour drive to the field - but I got there....and back on time.

While I was there, the temperature did dip below zero on a couple of nights. But warmed up nicely during the day. Here is a photo at the camp. Nice to see a Canadian flag flying.
The day after I flew back from Neuquen, I received this picture with the daily reports.

They received 15 cm of snow. Missed it by a day. Anyone working in Canada oilpatch would recognize a day like this. Here in Argentina, it gets a bit sporty. This is our new Export Pipeline Control Room......

It was followed by rain which washed at all away. But that is winter here in the Neuquen Basin.

B.