Hi everyone. Happy New Year!

I have decided to start a new blog - We have started a new adventure in a new country and it deserves its own blog.

So join us on our new adventure in Trinidad by making the following link one of your favorites:

http://ibelimin.blogspot.com/

Barney in BA was a great ride - I had fun writing it and sharing it. It will always be a great record of our time in Argentina.

B.

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.