Owner: Irish Expat in Buenos Aires URL:http://paddyinba.blogspot.com/ Join Date: Sun, 13 Apr 2008 19:07:12 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: General spiel on everyday life and experiences of an Irish expat moving to Buenos Aires to take some time out in the Argentine Capital and to travel the length and breadth of the country and beyond. Site statistics:Click here
Thick Smoke Blankets Buenos Aires - Update 2008-04-19 10:44:53 I've added a good YouTube video with a news report to supplement the first post below which demonstrates the seriousness of the situation. Visibility on the roads is now less than 3 metres. Several more fatalities reported. Breathing is noticeably difficult.
Read more:Thick
, Smoke
, Update
Gone Fishing! 2008-04-21 22:58:44 Puerto Madryn, Peninsula Valdes, Patagonia, ArgeninaPhoto: Big MoFo FishPoint your mouse over the slideshow and Click the little chat bubble on the left of the slideshow to see the photo captionsIt was a early start at 7:15am after a late night. I am not a social person before midday - EVER! Two fishermen arrived at the hostel and we were driven an hour out of town to a quiet beach. The maté drink (packed with caffeine) was the only saving grace.Photo: Traditional Maté DrinkMyself and the wee bro probably wouldn't be considered the most hardy fisherman types, but since our guides were kitted out in several layers of fleece, rain gear and hats and we only had very light layers, we knew we were in for a cold ride. Truth be told, as soon as we were out on the beach it was 'freeze the ba Read more:Fishing
, Gone Fishing
You Got's to Know When To Hold'em or Fold'em! 2008-04-23 00:35:13 The last night in Puerto Madryn we entered a Texas Hold'em poker competition at the casino. Four tables of ten were narrowed down to two tables of ten and then narrowed to one table of ten and then by some miracle, I was in the last four. Eventually, it was just two of us. Yours truly came second and cashed in a nice US$800 prize, so I was well chuffed.I won the annual poker comp back in my last year of college and the family likes to play cards ( a lot!) so I have some experience but I still think the exhaustion of late nights, and early morning fishing and fighting the big salmon till my arms were droppin' off (see previous post) was the best preface to a perfect poker face. No emotion - No tell tale twitches - Just yawning, even when I had my top hand to throw off the competition!
Say It - Don't Spray It! 2008-04-24 09:53:16 I've just spent the last ten minutes picking grains of rice out of my laptop keyboard, off my computer screen, the table, the floor and even the wall 2 meters away. Why that sounds strange? - I hear you say - Damn right! - It is strange!, so let me elaborate.I went to a friends civil ceremony wedding today and although it's customary to throw rice after yer hitched here, that had nought to do with this story. The ceremony happened to be near Barrio Chino (Chinatown). So after the festivities, I went to the Chinese supermarket and picked up some jasmine tea, soy sauce, wasabi and some sushi salmon rolls.I have a fairly high tolerance to spicy food and wasabi (japanese green spicy mustard for you non sushi heathens). The hotter the better - XXX Vindaloo - bring it on ya wussies!So I cho Read more:Spray
Temaiken Zoo, Outskirts of Buenos Aires 2008-04-24 09:52:37 The Buenos Aires
city zoo has a reputation for being a bit old and drab and the animals a bit, well, old and drab! However about 60kms outside the city is Temaiken Zoo
which is refreshingly clean, interesting, has healthy animals and very well maintained. See more info on this link.If you get bored of the Zoo, there's a big beer garden across the road. What more you you ask for? And now a really corny joke.A Man goes to the zoo, but when he arrives there's only a dog?It was a Shitzu!Photo: Courtesy Paraflyerfyi - no elephants at Temaiken :-(
Unfortunate Timing and Placement of Ads 2008-04-27 23:43:59 Nothing much of interest to post today so here goes some plagiarism! Advertising can be creative and even purposely funny. But sometimes, an ad on a bad place can have unexpected results! Here is a list of some unfortunately Placed Ads. Ad on the bus reads: "If you don't have G.I.O Third Party Property Insurance, we suggest you don't hit this bus" from Oddeee
Read more:Timing
, Placement
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly 2008-04-29 23:01:01 One man's lonely struggle to get justice for ugly peopleGonzalo Otalora shows his younger self. Photograph: Juana GhersaWhile a few leftwing dinosaurs here busy themselves with the plight of the low-waged whose tax bills are about to rocket under the new 20% starting rate, an Argentine writer has been applying himself to wider questions of social injustice. Gonzalo Otalora has written a book entitled ¡Feo! (Ugly!), which calls for the taxation of good-looking people to counteract the natural advantages they have over munters. "Countless studies show that ... it's easier for them to find jobs; they're paid more and find partners more easily," he says. The "manifiesto del feosexual" also calls for the levy to be donated to the ugly, and for photo requirements on job applications and airbrus
The Road Less Travelled 2008-05-05 12:08:55 I´ve been very bad at reading my fav blogs recently and not to good at posting to my own blog. I have a fairly good excuse however as the missus and I are on a months trip starting in Bogota, Colombia and ending in Guatemala. It´s a part of the world that´s long been on my wish list so watch this space to keep up to date with our travels. If you hear of any revolutions or up risings or civil wars, don´t worry, it´s just me up to my usual shennanigans!Fly Buenos Aires to Colombia and make our way up to Guatemala before flying back to Buenos Aires
Bogota, Bogota, So GOOD they named it once! 2008-05-07 23:01:01 The missus and I had a few hectic days (including a friends wedding in an estancia outside the capital) before we flew to Bogota
, Colombia (via Lima). We arrived at 00:45am and by the time we picked up our backpacks and reached our hostel it was close to 2am.It had a tall, wide imposing metal gate but there was little sign of life beyond it. I must have rang the buzzer and rattled the gate a dozen times but got no answer. This was neither the city nor the hour to be stranded without a roof. Just as we were starting to sweat (a.k.a. piss my pants!), a head appeared at a window and thankfully a security guard let us in. After a little confusion (they had no record of our reservation!) we were able to check in. It turned out there was an electrical fault which prevented the buzzer from workin Read more:named
Bad Girl, What ya gonna do? 2008-05-09 23:01:02 We flew from Bogota to Baranquilla in the north of Colombia and caught a bus to Santa Marta which is a pleasant enough seaside town. It was 38 celcius and extremely humid. The main attraction was the local national park which has some great beaches and excellent snorkelling. Bring your own snorkelling gear as its passed directly from previous renter to you, snot, spit and all - yeuch!There seems to be 3 price levels for most things (taxis, hotels, beers)1. Local yocal cheap price2. Local tourist cheap price3. Gringo Paddy, rip the shirt off your back price!Guess which one I was being asked to pay?Its expensive here for food, hotel etc even when you haggle the local tourist price.Next we visited Cartagena (5 hours east) which is steeped in historical significance. It has an old castle overl Read more:gonna
, Bad Girl
Panama and Pinapple Face 2008-05-14 09:19:43 I have vivid memories of when the US invaded Panama
and removed their puppet gone astray, Noriega aka Pinapple Face. Arriving in Panama is slightly bizzare as its third world meets first world. Its very Americanized which probably explains why there are so many yanks down here. Its also very cheap for budget accomo ($24 for a double room with cable TV and A.C.) and taxis ($2 for a 10 minutes ri
Costa Rica 2008-05-15 23:01:01 Getting from A to B in these parts ain´t always quick n´easy as I´ll demonstrate. We took a boat to Changuinola in the north of Panama and then a taxi to the bus terminal. The bus takes you across the border into Costa Rica
where you have to show proof of onward travel out of the country (not that easy when you don´t have specific plans!)We changed buses in the capital, San Jose and headed f
Nicaragua 2008-05-18 23:01:01 We left Montezuma at 10:30am and retraced our steps back to Punta Arenas and waited by the side of the road for a bus that would take us to Rivas in Nicaragua
. There was one slight hitch however as unbeknown to us we had timed our trip to coincide with a transit strike affecting all Nicaragua. Local and national buses, taxis and trains were all on strike. We were a tad lucky that an internationa
El Salvador 2008-05-21 18:28:31 As we took the ferry to leave Isla Ometepe there was literally a plague of flies that swarmed around the port and covered everything. Apparerently they are quite common here especially after rain but luckily they don't bite. The worst thing they do is fly up your nostrils, and in my case into your ears and mouth - yum! We spent half a day in the colourful colonial city of Granada before heading on Read more:Salvador
Honduras and the Bay Islands 2008-05-23 23:01:04 We headed north from San Salvador and eventually reached La Ceiba in Honduras
which is the jumping off point for the Bay Islands
. We had a bit of hassle getting local money (Lempiras) as the first 5 ATM's said "No - No No!" - but finally number 6 said "Ya man!" - Phew!After spending the night in La Ceiba we got the ferry (vomit comet) to the largest island Roatan. The crossing was fairly rough and
Belize it or NOT! 2008-05-26 23:01:02 Getting to Belize
was a bit of an adventure. The 7am morning ferry crossing was thankfully smooth as glass. A taxi to the wrong bus terminal didn't help but soon we were on route to Puerto Cortes but missed the last ferry to Belize. Instead we headed to the Guatemalan border and got an overcrowded sweat bucket minibus to NO JOKE!When we arrived at the port we had missed the last ferry to belize ye
Guatemala 2008-05-30 18:29:50 Our first few days in Guatemala
were Hot! Hot! Hot! We arrived in Flores late in the day and found a hotel with A.C. (not that easy!). The journey to arrive here included some kid puking non stop in the back seat of the bus. I handed him plastic bag number 3 and he diligently filled it up! I almost forgot to tell the tale of the previous smelly bus in Belize where the smell was so bad, the bus
The End of the ROAD 2008-06-03 15:32:32 They say 'All good things come to an end' and so it is with this trip. In hindsight, 8 countries in 4 weeks was a little ambitious and I didn't get to see everything I wanted but I came pretty darn close.Bogota wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be, except for getting sandwiched between tear gas wielding riot police and rock throwing protesters (Link). Northern Colombia is beautiful an
National Three Peaks Challenge 2008-06-04 23:01:02 Fancy a wee bit of exercise anyone? The NationalThreePeaksChallenge
is a mountain endurance challenge in Great Britain in which participants attempt to climb the highest peaks of each of the island's three countries. Whilst the challenge has no official rules or time restrictions, many participants try and complete it within 24 hours. The mountains climbed, in order of elevation, are Ben Nevi
Taking the Piss 2008-06-08 18:52:38 The following post (which is really just a republishing of an article courtesy of Throughthetube.com is dedicated to my bloggy friend Xbox4NappyRash (you need to visit his blog - for real!) and gratefully brought to my attention by my cuz Brendan.- - - -In homes, apartments, and shanties throughout Buenos Aires, thousands of graying women joyfully pee into plastic containers at all hours of the d Read more:Taking
I See Dead People! 2008-06-12 15:31:11 Recoleta District (Barrio), Buenos AiresProbably the most touristy district in Buenos Aires is Recoleta. It's here you find an over priced arty / souvenir market (on weekends) and restaurants that charge double than outlying areas. It's also where you find lots of famous dead people in the cemetery including several ex heads of state and of course, the pride and joy of the country, Evita a.k.a E
Argentinian TV - What's on your Box? 2008-06-15 23:39:52 Photo: TV Show - Bailando por un SuenoTelevision has changed a lot since I was an innocent wee lad back in Ireland. As a very young lad, I remember watching TV programs like The Waltons (good night John Boy!) and then in my late teens watching Beverly Hills 90210 (I had the hots for Kelly). We had some great home grown soaps like The Riordans and Bracken where none other than actor Gabriel Byrne
Yes - DO cry for me Argentina! 2008-06-17 00:13:59 I have to admire the Argentinian sense of camaraderie. As a nation, they have been fu(ked over so many times by their politicians that there is a seriously deep sense of distrust of any governing body, be it a financial institution, religious or school committee or national government. As an Irishman I can fully relate to that and then some! The Argentinians now come out in their droves to get Read more:Argentina
Take the poll if you dare! 2008-06-19 01:38:04 I've got bloggers constipation so you either need to come down here and give me cod liver oil or fess up with personal stuff so I can ponder then dump. - Don't hold back now! Feel free to create a whole new category in the comment section! After you vote - elaborate as far as the comfort barrier allows in the comments! You spill and I will too! If I could do my life all over again, that one tiny
FREE BEER! - Yes You Heard Right ! 2008-07-01 22:51:07 I like (actually I love) to go for a quiet pint every now n' then and just stare into the deafening silence and hear the hypnotysing clock on the wall "tick- tock - tick- tock!" There's something therapeutic about it.When I want to go out for a pint somewhere with some atmosphere, it gets a bit more complicated. For one thing people don't go out here until LATE, VERY LATE! - They eat late, they d Read more:Heard
, Right
I'm Going POSTAL! 2008-06-29 23:45:43 I got a little notice from the post office (Correo Argentina) the other day to let me know they tried to deliver a registered letter but I wasn't home. In actual fact, I never left the house all day so that was a big fat lie. Mr Postman just couldn't be arsed ringing the buzzer. The notice said I had to come and pick up the 'package' from the local sorting office. There was no option to have t Read more:Going
AXIS of EVIL! 2008-06-27 23:48:57 What was my reward for hours of torture spent bouncing between numerous waiting rooms at the post office? If you are just joining this thread you need to read here and then here first to know what I'm venting about. As somewhat anticipated, my parcel was a batch of forwarded mail from the UK containing the following:9 bank statements and7 credit card statements1 Annual report publication (199 page
Gone Postal - Past Tense! 2008-06-27 17:35:16 ....So back I went the following day. If you don't know what I'm talking about you need to start here first. Just to throw some complication into the mix, a friend who had heard about my saga/adventure the previous day, politely asked, if I could enquire about her missing package (a book), sent from her Grandma in Portugal to Buenos Aires back in May, that had never showed up. She had called the Read more:Postal
, Tense
MONEY FOR NOTHING ! 2008-06-24 23:02:13 I have a bit of a passion for travel. I have a currency collection which the missus kindly scanned for me yesterday. Ta much - missus! - I've just had a brainwave on how we can be rich, but more on that later!Some would say I'm a wanderer, others might call me a tinker or a gypsy or a knacker. My first big adventure away from home was for a month about 150 miles from Dublin in the Gaeltacht (Ir
Google Funny and Weird Search 2008-07-15 22:56:22 You'll no doubt have seen some but hopefully not all of these before.Type the following phrases into Google
search for some surprising results:Some are with the 'I'm Feeling Lucky' option, some are not."Find Chuck Norris" (with the 'I'm feeling lucky' option) - [or just click here ]"the answer to life the universe and everything" [or just click here ]"Who is a failure ?" [or just click here ]"Achi Read more:Funny
, Weird
, Search
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