New adventure......

A little detour before we start our latest adventure....
After leaving Buenos Aires - we headed back to Calgary for a few weeks.
I went up to Lake Louise to see how the World Cup preparations were coming along. On the day of the second training run, it snowed ~ 30 cm resulting in the day being scrubbed. It was fun to get caught up with old ski friends although I was looking forward to see some racing.

On the day I flew to Port of Spain, I had this view for four hours out the plane window as they investigated a 'blinky' engine light. I figured - take your time. Let's make sure it's the light and not the engine that is 'blinky'

Last view of a chilly winter for awhile.....

Next stop - Port of Spain Trinidad....sort of.

I will fast forward a bit here as the 4 hour delay resulted in missing my connection in Dallas and having to then overnight in Miami in a hotel room which was so small that I could change the channel on the TV with my big toe.

I ended up in 6 hotel rooms in 3 hotels in 4 days for a variety of reasons - flight delays, a flooded bathroom, a room with no running water, hotel construction, no internet.

It had nothing to do with being here in Trinidad - it just happened. What made it a challenge was that I was hauling several suitcases of stuff (too much stuff).

BUT we have now moved to the island of Trindad.

New job, new country, new stories!

We did our walkthrough of our 11th floor apartment. We signed off on the view from the terrace as....very acceptable! Our apartment is located at the mouth of the Diego Martin River which runs into the Gulf of Paria.

Across the gulf is Venezuela, which at it's closest point is ~ 7 km from Trinidad.

As we continued the walkthrough, we asked that the property manager to remove all of the plastic plants and flowers. We figured if there was a place where you should have real tropical plants, it was in the tropics! When we gathered them all together, they covered the dining room table.

As part of the inventory process, we went through all of the cupboards and look what I stumbled upon.....

We took it as a good sign.

Yesterday was the first time I have driven to work in almost two years. It was on the wrong side of the road but because traffic is so crowded you cant really get hurt at 10 km/hr.

B.

The 'Lasts'

I looked through the photos I took in our last couple of days in Buenos Aires. These were some of the keepers....

The last look out of my office window (the purple jacarandas were in bloom)...
The last look at the store we never went into (Ralph Lauren!)

The last time we listened to Ciento Dos Punto Tres (102.3) in Gustavo's car.

The last brunch we had at La Mansion....

The last panqueque de dulce de leche and last glass of champagne...

The last visit with Marcos, our favorite server at the lounge at the Alvear Palace....

Mimi's last hug from Daniel, who delivered our paper every morning....

And.....Barney's last beer in BA....

We were blessed to meet such terrific friends in a beautiful city at this time in our lives.

We will have great memories (and about 9000 photographs to remember it all by!).

The 'Barney in BA' adventure was awesome and we look forward to sharing our Trinidad adventure with everyone as well.

B.

What a ride!

Barney in BA has taken a back seat for quite some time now. Someone observed that it goes quiet when there is some uncertainty going on. Well, lately there has been much uncertainty (and a lot of work) but the dust is starting to clear and I have much to report on.



Things have moved very quickly recently but it looks like tomorrow will be my last day working in Argentina. We expect that the sale of the Argentine assets of our company will go through tomorrow. Following that we will re-surface as a new organization early next week. We will have assets in Colombia and Trinidad. With that, Mimi and I are planning to move to Port of Spain, Trinidad, with the new company. We will spend some time in Calgary in November before heading to Trinidad.



I have continued to take lots of photos over the last couple of months and when I have some down time, I will post a few of the good ones and get everyone caught up. We have loved our time here in Argentina.





We will always fondly remember the dog walkers of Buenos Aires. This was on my walk to work this morning.


I think I might have to rename 'Barney in BA' for this next adventure.

Stay tuned,

B.

Drive through shopping

At stop lights, many intersections become locations of commerce.

Vendors sell anything and everything - religious articles, newspapers, flowers, ice cream bars, chocolate, colored marker sets, kites, fishing rods.

Things for kids are popular....especially if they are in the car with you.

Ar rush hour, it gets even busier - with 6 to 8 vendors offering different items at the same red light.

The vendors leave their products out on display as well - although I still havent figured out the appeal of the oversized tennis ball.

B.

Fernet & Coke (or Fernet y Coca)

On the weekends, Mimi & I like to go for walks. This time we headed toward Paseo Alcorta, a mall that has a grocery store. We just wanted to pick up a few things. On the walk, we went by the Plaza de la Flor, where the 'big flower' is, there was also a 'big' advertising campaign on as well.

Meet Coca Sarli - a whole lot of Coca Sarli. 1882 of her in fact.... ...all numbered.The promotion was for 1882 Fernet. The park was filled with 1882 images of Coca Sarli.

Fernet is an Argentine drink (that tastes like Absorbine Jr but is quite popular mixed with Coke or as it is known here, Coca).

Coca Sarli, a famous Argentine actress is now 74.

She was Miss Argentina back in 1955.

B.

Quick trip back to Calgary

I travelled back to Canada for a quick visit. It was great to see Mimi, the kids and Cooper. Mimi had been back for a few weeks while I 'slaved' away at the office here.

When the kids were here back at Christmas they became fans of Esperanza's empanadas. While I couldnt bring them back I did return with the hot sauce we enjoy here. I also brought back containers of dulce de leche which was enjoyed with ice cream. Thank goodness for ziplock bags.

The weather was lousy while I was there but I did manage to get out golfing with some buddies - in the rain. We had some fun.

I did drop into our office in Calgary to catch up with a few folks. It was a busy place with everything going on so I kept the visit short.

The main purpose for my trip was so that the kids could host my 50th birthday party. The timing of my trip changed because of work commitments, so there was a scramble to pull it together. They did a great job. They borrowed a house (thanks Cindy & Peter), arranged catering, got out invitations and the sun actually came out. It was nice to see friends and get caught up and have birthday cake.

So whether you are 5 or 50, you still get to wear the crown on your birthday!

B.

Watch the world go by

Along 'the stroll' near the Recoleta cemetary is a strip of restaurants & cafes. They have redone the area where all their patios are set up.

I had gone for a walkabout one afternoon and sat down at La Biela (a well known cafe right on the corner) to watch the world go by - and it does. There are locals and tourists and buskers and entertainers. You can sit down on the patio of a cafe like La Biela and order a coffee. The staff are professional.... and they are quite happy to let you sit there all afternoon. All that world-watching does generate quite a thirst. La Biela has pretty nice mugs too (and that isnt a coffee mug).

B.

Pisco Sours...

Played golf on Saturday and then afterwards went to friends for chicken wings & Pisco Sours (yes, the night before the 10 K race).

Pisco would be one of those national drinks that you have to be careful with (alcohol content aside). You know how with champagne, you can't call it 'champagne' if it isnt from the Champagne region of France - well two countries (Peru & Chile) are in a dispute over who has the right to claim the name (or origin or home) of pisco which is an aclcohol distilled from grapes.
Whoever claims it, it makes for a good mixed drink (which will sneak up on you and hurt you) called a Pisco Sour. The variation we enjoyed consisted of: one part (a really big part) pisco, one part fresh squeezed lemon juice - from lemons picked from their tree in the back yard...one part water, 8 teaspoons sugar and one egg white. Throw it all in a blender with ice and spin it all up.
Dangerous - tequila dangerous.

Down here the champagne (I mean, sparkling wine) is also very good.
B.

Family

Family is culturally very important here in Argentina.

There are the usual celebrations for Father's Day and Mother's Day (there is the unique one here that I like - Friend's Day) BUT there is another special one.

It is called Children's Day.
The brunch at the Alvear to celebrate it sounds like it will be a blast.


Paying 240 pesos (about 70 bucks) for your 3 year old to have brunch sounds like a bit much..........but hey, the wine is included.

B.

Just for the t-shirt (not really)

I did it.

I have started to fight off the accumulation of extra weight that has come with moving to Argentina. The lomo and Malbec does take it's toll. I ran in the Reebok 10 Km race this morning.

My extra 5 kg put me in the Clydesdale division. So with 5448 of my closest friends... I ran the 10 km loop in the middle of BA..... I haven't run 10 km in at least 10 years. Doing triathalons seems forever ago.

I finished in 1 hour and 4 minutes (finishing 4183rd out of 5449).
Not a record, but I didnt stop and walk, I got the shirt, got the (participation) medal and got really sore. I celebrated with a plate of empanadas when I got home.

B.

Friday Night Lights

Mimi is back in Canada visiting with the kids. It was Friday night so I went for a walkabout in the neighborhood to take some pictures. The weather has cooled off this week - it is refreshing.


This is our apartment building....

Here is the Alvear Palace....someone important is staying there this weekend because there was lots of security and an ambulance parked out front the whole time. They must have been old, sick or important...or all three.One of the local flower vendors.....



The Palacio Duhau (the Hyatt hotel)......



Here is the Santa Sede - the Vatican Embassy in BA....


This is the Disco - our local grocery store - which is the home to the 45 minute plums.



The Basilica del Pilar next to the Recoleta Cemetary - built in 1715 (lights installed later).




And right on the corner next to the apartment is Vitto (Pizza Resto Cafe) - I think I have had at least 50 Napolitana pizzas here.

B.

First it was the Dengue Fever....

Then it was the Swine Flu (now affectionately called H1N1)....but I think there will be reasons to consider Avian (Bird) Flu next.

A fresh 5 degrees over the last few days will keep the germs at bay...but not the pigeons.

B.

It was 2.2 degrees on the apartment terrace this morning. I got to wear my Descente Coach's coat for the walk to work this morning. The heat has been turned off in the apartment because of some gas pipe problems. It is down to 19 degrees in the apartment.

And it snow here yesterday.

I have a tee time for Saturday.

It feels like Calgary in July.

B.

City Update

Yes, I have been able to maintain my running (it has been at least a week now). And yes, I still take my camera. Sunday was a gray day but good for running.

From the apartment, I ran up Avenida 9 de Julio past the Teatro Colon, which is still closed for renovations. It was to re-open in May, 2008 on it's 100th anniversary but things have been 'delayed'. It will re-open sometime in 2010. In time for the country's 200th anniversary.

I ran by El Obolisco

on the way to the Casa Rosada (the Pink Palace),which is the office of the country's president. Cristina has had a rocky time lately....and pretty much deserves it. They keep the gates locked up all the time now and she commutes from home in a helicopter.

I continued on to Puerto Madero, where there is the distinctive Puente de la Mujer (Women's Bridge). It was designed by Santiago Calatrava - who has designed several world renowned bridges. He has also designed the footbridge that will be (probably, maybe, might be) built at 10th Street, crossing the Bow River in Calgary.

And another thing....

Felice Dia del Amigo! (July 20th)

It is a great little day of celebration - not a holiday, no cards - just a recognition of friends. So enjoy the day & remember your friends!

B.