March 12, 2006 Buenos Aires
Today we woke up for the first day in about 15 that there was nothing on our plate from GAP Adventures. The trip with them is officially over, so we have a few days to ourselves to collect a few things, eat a few more steaks, and transition back to normal life. We said our good-byes to the rest of the group this AM, heading to the Recoleta Cemetary for some sight-seeing. The Recoleta is the nicest part of B.A., and it's like the ¨Manhattan¨ of the area as far as housing goes. There are fancy shops, and historically, it's the "in" part of the city, with shopping and housing coming at a premium. The cemetary is well known and similar to those in New Orleans (above ground). It's actually more like a city of tombs, some that were so ornate and huge that it was sickening that $ was used in such a way. We're talking granite and marble structures. Stained glass windows on the insides... Domed ceings on some with mosaics and painted ceilings. Some were huge and beautiful. Many others were old, beaten down, and the caskets almost falling out of them. There is a lot of history in this place, as the oldest person we saw was born in 1880. Eva Peron's grave is also here, but very modest compared to the bigger ones.After a quick saunter through a street market, we hit up our favorite Steak joint, La Caballeriza. Although not as good as the one in Puerto Madero, we enjoyed a 20 ounce steak, chorizo sausage, the mandatory 2 pounds of bread for Terri, and the glorious grilled provoleta. Mmmmmmmmm... The rest of the afternoon was spent doing some shopping and preparing for the evening.We were to meet at 4:00 with some of our new friends---Roberto, Ted, Paul, and Mufti. After waiting for over an hour for Roberto (our GAP Leader), it was apparent he would neither show up nor call. Kind of a bummer, as Ted and Mufti have a grasp of Spanish. Terri, Paul, and myself---nearly worthless. Anyway, tonight's event was truly unforgetable. We headed out to La Boca for the big soccer game. The Boca Juniors is the most popular team in B.A., and a Sunday night match against Quilme was a great draw. After piling all 5 of us into a cab, we arrived to Boca, a somewhat shady neighborhood with a reputation for eating up tourists and spitting them out.A cop quickly informed us that the game as sold out and we should just go back to where we came from. We would not be getting tickets. However, like in the US, scalpers easily spotted us and we let the negotiations begin... It took nearly 2 hours, and I thought we'd have to give our first born to indeed get the tickets. But ultimately, 100 pesos each ($33) got us Club Seats in a nice area. It's very important to get the right section for these matches, as it can be quite dangerous if you're in with the riff-raff. The rough section is called "el populares," and the activity from this area was just as entertaining as the game itself. I saw a few people get pummelled at the game's end...Terri can vouch for me on this: It was a bit scary even getting into the stadium. It seemed everywhere we went, many eyes were following us. We had all agreed to not speak English, as this was definitely not the element you want people to know you're a tourist and likely have a money pouch somewhere on you (Ted actually got scammed of $200 and a credit card earlier in the day).Once we found our seats, the game was ELECTRIC. We've all heard about how passionate non-Americans are about soccer. Let me tell you--it's all that and more. I've not seen energy like this at any sporting event I've ever attended. A majority of the stadium sang songs through the ENTIRE game. Never stopped. Just one song after the other. And LOUD. People were yelling and screaming the entire match, which Boca won (Thank God cause it could've been bad had they lost) 3-1. There are some blazing differences between US Football and Argentina Soccer.1. The opposing players must enter the field in giant blown up tubes that goes halfway out onto the field. That way, no fans can throw batteries or harmful objects at them as they near the edges of the field. 2. The opposing team bench is built INTO the stadium so no one can get at them.3. There are 20 foot fences around the playing field to keep the fans out. Some fences are barbed wire, and some have REALLY sharp spines on them.4. Those same fences (as well as bulletproof glass) kept the common fans out of our Members Only section. 5. There was no scoreboard or time clock. However, EVERYONE was very into the game and followed very closely. Including the women, which actually were very few.6. The opposing team's fans were kept away from everyone else. When the game ended, it is common policy to let them leave for 30 minutes before the home team leaves. That way no one gets maimed or worse...7. The opposing team SET FIRE to their section of the stadium as they left. I'm not joking. It was a big fire that burned for several minutes as we made our way from the seats. Lose the game? Fine. But we're gonna set fire do your bleeping stadium. 8. It seems in US football, people spend great energy and $ on showing how big a fan they are. People dress up, trick out their vehicles, wear goofy clothing, and it seems to be a lot about image. Here, it seems ALL energy is put through vocalizing, singing, and completely FREAKING OUT. I've been fortunate to attend some exciting sporting events in the USA. None of them come close to matching the energy tonight, minute for minute.... Not even close.9. In the US, no one likes the referees. In Argentina, you might get shot if you're a ref. Yes, it's happened. The fans actually booed and cussed the refs just as much as the entire team. And this was BEFORE the game even started.10. I've learned some new swear words... From the mouth of an 8 year-old at the game with his parents. I won't give you a verbatim definition, but let's just say that the words "punta" and "madre" is no way to give someone a compliment. Especially when used together.11. Cheerleaders. The cheerleaders come out only before the game and at halftime. This is the the tune of about 60,000 men whistling. The cheerleader outfits reminded me mostly of a bad high-school team, and their dancing was pretty unorganized as well. The interesting thing, however, is that 3 women flag bearers decorate the field with the cheering squad. Yup, in a tiny sports bra top and a G-String. Mufti (Brit) more appropriately calls them "cheekers," which might be my new favorite slang word for the trip.Anyway, despite the highly anxious acquisition of tickets, leaving the stadium was much easier. We again instituted our "No English" policy until we found a cab. Boca is no place to be milling about on your own after dark. But there were 5 of us, and despite the seemingly scary situation, we never really met any imminent danger. It can just feel a little intimidating when you find yourself in an element 100% foreign, you speak just a little of the language, and your guide decides not to show up! Once home, we cleaned up and headed straight over to Rodizio, a highly recommended steak place. Dinner time: 11 PM. This is very typical of the locals, as they usually eat dinner 10PM or later. This is served Brazillian style, where the waiters come by with skewers of various types of beef. Options included Steak, pork, chicken, chorizo sausage, intestines, blood sausage, goat, and ribs. Needless to say, I ate till the next bite may cause illness. Although Rodizio came highly recommended, I'd say it was way overpriced, at about $20 US per person. The service was great though, and overall it was better meat than in the US. Just not as good as hoped. I'm sure we'll find more tomorrow...A quick cab ride home was time enough for me to learn that I tried to pay with counterfeit $. That's right. BC dishing out the fake 10 Peso bills. Apparently the lovely ladies in the souvinier shop passed me a fake bill after I bought a hat at the game. Nice to know their gift stand has a stack of counterfeit bills for obscenely obvious non-locals. So I guess the hat was actually 40 pesos instead of 30. Just the nice touch I'd hoped for to end off a crazy night. You all would have loved the interaction between me and the cab driver as he told me my 10 peso note was "no bueno," offering no other explanation due to the language barrier. It was a bit tense, and perhaps Terri saved my life by stepping in with real money, as it wasn't till later I figured out I was duped. Time for sleep.
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