Age of Aquarius

Shinanigans!!! Thats all I have to say about Argentinian futbol games! Liz and I traipsed to a game yesterday afternoon with three girls from Ireland and the girls Susan from Holland. Now I have to say that I thought I had seen the best of crowds at UO sporting events. Like for example those guys who paint their entire bodies green and yellow, or the people in the pit who chant little songs at the players. In my mind those were die hard sports fans... Then I saw the Argentinian team Boca play Tigre. I can now say with pride that I have been to the most intense sporting event on the planet and survived the crowd, not the game, but the crowd. This game had the best hyper crazed, most caffinated sports fanatics that I could have ever participated with. They sang songs about their beloved team Boca for the ENTIRE game. Not one fan rested until half time and then for the 20 min the team was off the field everyone was dead silent, conserving energy for the next round. Unreal! There were flags hanging down onto the stands that were a hundred feet long and yellow cement blocks that fans would stand up on and dance while holding onto the flags for support, swinging their arms around in the air and holding on for dear life, oh and did I mention that they were dangerously close to falling 40 feet down to a stiff cement death. Man, talk about love for your team. Awesome! Sadly Boca lost so we moped while Tigre gloated across the way, but Im okay with that, because I cant even imagine the crowd explosion that would have occured had Boca won.

Today we went to the Recoleta Cemetery to see Eva Duarte de Peron´s grave and wander around a really swanky part of town. The cemetary was gorgeous. Every grave was at least 6 feet wide and varied in height. There were hundreds and wandering through felt like being in a miniature town with all the shops on the streets closed for the night. They were beautifully ornate with stained glass windows of jesus and the virgin, wonerfully intricate wooden carvings and marble architecture and spires that reached so high it hurt your neck to look upward. It was a very tranquil place to spend the day, especially since this is the first sunny day we have seen since we´ve arrived.

Liz and I are leaving the city tonight and heading to Iguazú Falls for the next few days. We are fed up with this cold city and need to be north for a while, closer to the equator. Then we are thinking about traveling to Cordoba in the middle of the country then maybe west over to Mendoza for a wine festival. Im thinking the atmosphere in the smaller towns will be a good change of pace for a while. Lots of love! Ciao!