Sweltering heat. I was promised sweltering heat. It was chilly today as we walked through the city. The temperature was in the seventies and the sky was overcast. I kept wishing I had a jacket.

During our walk today I was reminded on more than a few occasions why the city streets seem to be filled with trash. In the earlier part of the day the streets are fairly clean, but as the day goes on scavengers decend on the trash receptacles, remove all of the contents, then take the recyclable materials away, leaving the rest on the sidewalks and streets. I guess it is the case that desperate people will do what it takes to survive and the consequences will be damned.

Today’s walk took us to Recoleta and a tour of the cemetery. Along the way we encountered the Supreme Court building, where we were unceremoniously told we could not tour the building. This was somewhat surprising since we thought we were in the Teatro Colon, which ended up being across the street.

By the time we got to the theater there was a large crowd waiting for admission, so we decided to head on to the cemetery.

I’ve always been somewhat fascinated by cemeteries. At one time in my life I worked in the funeral industry and learned that dealing with human remains is a like taking out the trash. But the Recoleta Cemetery is a reminder that people tend to reverence the dead, spending considerable resources to fashion memorials to the departed. The memorials in the Recoleta cemetery were more than a little ostentatious displays of commitment to the memories of the loved one. More than a few had collapsed into ruin after years of neglect.

After the cemetery and lunch we went to the National Museum of Fine Arts, which was nearby. We saw an excellent collection, including medieval tapestries, statuary, and paintings. There was an exhibit on the artistic trajectory of the twentieth century. Although some of the twentieth century collection was interesting, I was really impressed by the decline of mastery of media and technique has been disguised by experimentalism. By the time we got to the post modernist, post war period, I was thoroughly disgusted by the abject nihilism that passes as art. But to each his own, I suppose.

I still don’t get how the same folks who despise the swastika celebrate the hammer and sickle.

Aside from a long walk home, punctuated by pastries and coffee, that was our day. We headed home for warmth and wine.

What the heck is with that title?! We headed out between 11:30 and noon today, walking into soft sun and bright blue. Our destination: Galeria Guëmes for a view from the mirador on the 14th floor. The lovely gentleman from the convent had told us about it. Enter on San Martin and exit on Florida, he said. We walked to the end of San Martin and found there a tourist office. There we were told that Galeria Guëmes was back the way we had come about 9 blocks. Foiled. On the Oiled side, we found the hop on, hop off tour bus he also recommended. But now that we think about it, we figure we’ll walk to all those places anyway, so why take the bus? I think this lovely gentleman wants us good tourists to spend dinero. I actually think that is wonderfully patriotic of him.

We did get to the Galeria. The cupola you walk around is pretty small. It does provide splendid views of the city. And the breeze up there was just heavenly. I could have sat in the opening for hours just gazing and feeling that breeze. Of course, you can’t sit in the opening that high up.

Here is a photo from there focusing on a rooftop patio that looked appealing. See the white tents and lounge chairs?

And here is photo looking up at more of the spiral staircase – which is closed. You know I would have loved to get up that high!

While we were waiting for the Galeria to open we stopped in for coffee. When you sit at a table in a cafe, it arrives like this – on a tray, with water and a cookie. Sweet!

Actually, while we waited for the Galeria to open (at 3) we stopped for a bite and a drink – wine for me and beer for Charlie. Oiled. We stood at the counter instead of table service. For one, it’s easier to engage in conversation with others. A man next to us was tucking into something that looked delicious – and keto. “Milanesa”, he said, “muy bien.” His wife’s sister lives in Benjamin, Utah. He said it was beautiful – at least on Google maps! He complained a bit about inflation and mentioned that gas, electricity and water were expensive. Then he was off!

Next stop – the ecological park. We went on Monday, but it’s closed Mondays. Yesterday it was too rainy. Today it was still closed due to yesterday’s rain! Foiled. Here I am gazing up into foliage as I lie on a wall keeping us from entering the park.

Sometime in the day we passed through 25 de Mayo Plaza.

Anyone who travels with me knows that I love to enter hotel lobbies. They generally have something interesting or beautiful. This Hilton lobby did not disappoint. Plus it’s a great place to get money from the cajero automático.

We’re in early tonight. No plans for tomorrow yet! Except to call Elena whom we met on the Caminho in Calda de Reyes, Spain.

Tonight – I begin my new book in Spanish – keeping the computer handy for the dictionary. And I’m also going to research how to get the most out of the camera on my new phone.

All the best, Paula

Paula and I have complementary approaches to travel. I am very good at knowing where I am going and she is good at knowing where we are. It works pretty well, except there is a down side. We might be at lunch and decide we’ll go to xyz next. I point out it’s three blocks that way and then we will go left for half a block. So far so good. Then a half block away I’ll notice Paula is not with me and I’ll see here going through a door or turning into an alley. I’ll say, “I thought you wanted to go to xyz,” and she’ll say “do you notice the pattern the shadows make on this tile? I want to take a photo.” I’ll impatiently wait for her and when we start to head out, but now she’s looking at something else. Don’t tell her, but I actually have a richer experience going at her pace, but I’ll never admit it.

We woke early today, which is the first day we have done that on this trip. I noticed the date and realized it would have been my brother John’s seventieth birthday today. He passed on last June. I thought about him throughout the day and wondering how it is so many years have gone by since we were playmates.

Our goal today was to get to the 14th floor of the Galeria Guemes, which has an observation deck for a bird’s eye view of the city. We made it there, but only after several detours. The other day we were told of an “on and off” bus tour that had an office near the Galeria and that there was also an Italian coffee shop in the area. We found the ticket office for the bus tour first, and it ended up being eight or nine blocks from the Galeria. We checked the prices and schedule and decided we might do that later in the week, and then crossed the street to park we had seen yesterday. It is a very nice park with a good view of the Retiro neighborhood.

Within the park was a gigantic ficus tree that had captured the attention of many children and adults

After lolling about in the shade a bit we headed off to the Galeria, passing by a Kentucky Fried Empanada stand.

Heading on to the Galeria we decided we should try the Italian coffee shop, but were not able to find it, so settled for a different brand. We had to wait for about half an hour for the observation deck to open, and it was worth the wait.

By the time we finished it was too late to go to the Recoleta cemetary so we opted to try the ecological preserve that was closed on Monday. After a nice walk we found that it was closed again today for inclement weather. Initially we were somewhat confused about why the weather was deemed inclement since it had been dry and sunny all day. We finally concluded that the trails were too muddy from the rain yesterday.

At that time we decided to head back to the apartment, getting a snack along the way. As we passed through Puerto Madero we walked through an area where warehouses had been converted to retail and restaurant malls, with the cranes left to provide a little ambiance.

We also went through a modern shopping district that had the distinctive characteristic of groups of young girls practicing syncronized dance routines, using their reflections in the glass windows to refine their performances.

We also saw a monument that we call “Chevy sin palo”, which is an inside joke for Burquenos.

All in all, we had a great day and left a lot of things undone that we can get to tomorrow. Or later.

For the fifth or sixth time in my life I was able to stop rain. It’s very simple, really. All I need to do is buy an umbrella and the clouds part and the sun shines. Of course if I get too cocky about it, the rain returns. That’s what happened today. The rain stopped in the late morning and we headed out to see some of BsAs, planning to walk to the Ateneo bookstore, a couple miles away. After about 20 minutes a light rain started and after fifteen minutes of continuing to hold hope that the weather forecast would prove to be right we stopped into a store and plunked down 100 pesos for a small umbrella (about $2.70) allowing us to experience a sunny few hours.

Suitably insulated against the vagaries of nature we launched ourselves again in towards the bookstore, distracted only once by the Plaza de los Grenaderos, that contains some graphic sculptures related to Argentina’s military history.

The Aneteo bookstore is in a converted theater and maintains some of the elegance of bygone days. It is an interesting structure, with bookshelves lining the mezzanine and balcony and a childrens section in the below ground section.

We spent some time perusing the selections and watching the numerous tourists taking photographs.

On the way to the bookstore we had passed a place we thought we would like to visit on our return. We headed back that way and settled in on a covered terrace to appreciate a craft brew. While we were there, the good fortune I had purchased for $2.70 expired and we watched for an hour and a half as the streets flooded with rain and people hustled by in varying levels of protection from the wetness. Being from Albuquerque, we are not used to seeing such a hard unrelenting rain. My frequent checks of the Weather Channel app assured us that the rain would be ending shortly. It was quite a show, really, and we figured the matinee would end by 5:00 as we were assured by the weather channel. But at 5:00 the forecast was that the rain would end by 6:00. By six it was still raining, and a half hour later we figured the Gringos had blown it again, bit the bullet (to use a completely inappropriate metaphor)bundled in our rain jackets and headed off under our new umbrella to find the Guerrin Pizzaria, a restaurant that had been highly recommended to us.

The rain gear we have is the same we wore when walking the Caminho Portugues last year. At the time I had questioned how the manufacturer and I had such different understanding of the meaning of the term “waterproof,” and I was soon reminded that I had not resolved that difference in the meanwhile. The umbrella was clearly waterproof, since my head and shoulders remained dry, but everything below the chest was pretty soaked by the time we had gone ten minutes. Just before we got to our destination I considered that we maybe should have taken a taxi.

We arrived at the pizzaria, after a twenty minute walk, wet and hungry. Guerrin has been at the same location since 1938 and has a good reputation and a loyal following. We split one of the house specialty pizzas, which was tasty and was accompanied by a slice of faina, which is a flat bread made from chickpeas.

By the time we left the rain had stopped and we had a nice, though chilly, walk back to the apartment.

Tomorrow we will try to get out before noon. In one sense I feel that we are getting into the BsAs rhythm, but I suspect it is mostly that we are still on MST, which is 4 hours earlier.

Until tomorrow.

Charlie

HEY-O~

Another day, another 1 PM or so start time. Well, we were up until 2 in the morning last night. I find I rather like late nights and sleeping in for a change of pace. Why not when the day is open and the hours are fluid?

We walked a lot today. It took us a while just to get to the Ateneo Bookstore. Granted we took our time getting there, stopping to appreciate a park, a statue, some buildings, or to pop into a store for provisions we needed.

Below are a few photos of sites along the way to the Ateneo Bookstore. The first is a statue titled El Doute. The brillance of the white, the red, the green captured me.

The blockiness and strength of this statue and the surrounding architecture is slightly ominous to me, and also speaks of strength and purpose.

On the way to the Ateneo Bookstore I stopped into a shop to see if they carried a French Press. Not that I had any intention of buying one as we had resolved our coffee making dilemma by earlier purchasing a reusable cloth filter. I just wanted to see if it were available and how much it would cost. Sure enough, they have it – the press and 2 cups for $826 Argentine Pesos, about $23.00 USD. Not bad.

The clerk who attended to us was from Syria. He wants desperately to go to the USA. He told me that he wished we could put him in our luggage and take him with us. He’s been in Argentina for 3 years. He is a civil engineer. He understands that Trump has issues with people from Syria. He’d much rather be able to return to his home country and work there. I do wish I had asked him how he came to be in Argentina. How he left Syria. It was a moment of recognition of the benefits I have by birth; of gratitude for being a traveler in Argentina and not a refugee. He was sweet and polite. And within that, through the subcontext of his comments, I definitely heard the hurt and the longing for more.

So, the Ateneo Bookstore. What’s the big deal? Why do I mention this? It’s billed as the most beautiful bookstore in the world. Though I have also read that Livraria Lello in Porto, Portugal (which we did not see while there! more’s the pity) is also quite beautiful. At any rate, El Ateneo Grand Splendid is indeed quite splendid. It used to be a theatre. There is a cafe where the stage is. The box seats, logges (?) are still there and a few folks were comfortably settled in reading. The main floor has been leveled for housing books. There are several floors, the uppermost displaying some art work and the lowest level reserved for juveniles. I bought a book by Claudia Piñeiro, a native of BA. The cover caught my eye and I wanted a book by a female. I read the back cover and determined that this was the book for me. For one thing, it is a series of short stories and I figured it would be easier to manage than an entire novel. I’ll let you know if that is truly the case.

El Ateneo Grand Splendid

Notice the men holding up the balcony of the third floor. 

I learned from looking up the world’s most beautiful bookstores that Buenos Aires containes more bookstores per capita than any other city!

I think that a quest to visit each of the 10 most beautiful bookstores throughout the world would be a worthwhile endeavor. Venice, Netherlands, and Santorini – here I come!

We left the bookstore and headed to Growler, a cerveceria comunitaria that we had noticed along the way. Drizzle began to fall. I figured we’d make it there just in time before the deluge. We were trapped there for the better part of 2 hours. Not a bad place to be.

The rain did not cease and we wanted to make it to Pizzeria Guerrín, which we were told was a must. The rain pounded us. The stupid rain jacket got soaked through. My skirt was a sopping mess. But we were warm in our pizza bliss.

The rain stopped for the walk home and we were rewarded with this arco iris.

And with that, I bid you  sweet dreams. May you find your metaphorical pot of gold.

Paula

We received a comment that it is sometimes hard to determine which of us has posted a new blog. I had assumed people would know that the snarky, cynical posts would be mine, and the lyrical, descriptive posts would be Paula’s. Perhaps she is more snarky than I thought. Anyway, up til now, I have been updating a previous post and Paula has been posting a new blog each day. We have decided we will each sign off on our posts. In the event we do not do so, those written by Paula will include her e-mail address in the heading, and those written by me will have the name of the website (aworthwhileillusion.blog).

Last night we checked the weather forecast for today and it was for partly cloudy skies with a 20 percent of rain. We woke up to rain that ended about 11:00. It allowed us another excuse to not get out and about until after lunch, which we will not eat since we just got around to breakfast. All that is to say that weather forecasts here are about as accurate as the ones produced by the Gringos up north (if I may be allowed to use an expression that confuses the six cardinal directions.)

We’ll be heading out to find the treasures of BsAs soon, and will post about our discoveries at the end of the day.

Charlie

Okay, so although this is full day 1, as we arrived at our Air BandB yesterday around 1pm, today was again half a day as we didn’t leave our apartment util about 1 pm. I had a difficult time getting to sleep last night – over tired? – still too cranky to sleep? – too ornery to sleep? Who knows. At any rate, this morning, I slept and slept and slept some more. I finally got out of bed around 10:30. Maybe closer to 11.

Then came the coffee making experiment. Thought for sure that this apartment came with a coffee maker. That’s one thing we always check for on amenities on the air b and b website. However, no coffee maker here. So, I finagled a filter using paper towel. It was working great until the paper fell apart into the cup. Cowboy coffee it is – or a variation thereof. Just let those grounds settle and take diminutive sips so as not to disturb said grounds.

This led to a search for a method of making coffee. We started by asking for a place that sells a French Press. Naturally this called for some creative descriptions via words and drawings. While we were sent to a few places, none had a French Press. We ended up buying a small strainer. So, we’ll continue making cowboy coffee, but at least be able to strain it.

We also bought a knife sharpener. We have discovered that knives are dull in most rental situations. This knife sharpener is primo. It has both fine and coarse sharpener slots. AND it folds in half! Talk about a vagabond’s utensil ideal. We have determined that we will now travel with it. The strainer will also become part of our travel accouterments. After our last trip we’ve taken to traveling with a cork screw. These are important lessons, so take note.

After a very salty, but delicious kale omelette, we headed for points east – the ecological reserve park and the Jumbo store. The park for some nature. The store for the coffee press. You know how that turned out. The park was a bust, too – closed on Monday. We have plenty of time to return though so no worries.

Walking along I happened to see an opening that looked interesting. It was an entry into one of the oldest conventos of Buenos Aires, built in the early 1600s. We walked around a bit. Then an older gentleman came out of an office an offered to tell us a bit of the history – as long as we, or one of us – understood Spanish. He showed us an old map of the original size of BA, with the convent right there on the periphery. Like most large cities now, it was quite small as an original settlement.

He also told us of a place to visit: Galeria Guemes. It has a mirador on the 14th floor from which you not only get to view BA from above, but on a clear day may also see the coast of Uruguay. Tomorrow! Check in for pics and comments.

Note – convents, which I associate with nuns, were home to brothers – frailes. This is the same as in Portugal. I need to do some research on that. There are no brothers there now. There is a restaurant, a theatre (now showing War and Peace), and a bookstore. There is also a very peaceful and quite garden with jacaranda and camphor trees, flowers, and benches for quiet contemplation. I quite liked it there. There were also a few cats lounging about. I love to see cats, lounging about. It speaks to my own inner cat.

We visited a basilica. It was darker than most. I saw a man praying – using his prayer beads. I saw a women with her hands pressed to a glass wall of a cube containing a saint. She was praying. I saw a woman writing down her prayer on paper to leave for the saint to honor. I saw prayers written down on paper and placed within the saint’s glass walled cube. I sat and said my own prayer of thanks and gratitude and healing for close ones in need.

Supplications. I think it was Basilica Nuestra Señora de la Merced.

We sat and had a beer at Temple on the Rio Iguazu. It was a lovely place to relax and people watch as a pedestrian walkway ran just by the outside sitting area. Here are a few photos from that spot.

Okay, yesterday I said this did not seems so much like the Paris of South America. Today, I saw more evidence for that moniker. But it still seems more like Mexico to me.

However, here is a photo that brings Paris to mind.

It was a good day. I leave you with a photo from our window this evening. Moody, isn’t it? It was a moody night. We walked home in the rain from our dinner out at Bar El Federal, dating from 1864. Weather here is delightful.

We made it. Of course we did. Think of all the hundreds of thousands, millions of people traveling everyday throughout the world. Most make it to their destinations with hardly a hiccup. It’s astonishing the level of detail and coordination that goes into moving humans all over the globe.

We had about four an a half hours to fritter away in Houston before our 10:20 flight. It’s a large airport so we walked it a bit and scoped out the best place to have a beer. Which oddly enough, wasn’t the Beer Garden as it had just four selections from which to choose. We also wanted a location away from the competing fried and bbq smells of the food court. We found it in a sweet freestanding spot called The Beer Hive. The bartender wasn’t too busy and so was chatty and helpful with beer selections, pouring generously of the tastes. He was also more than generous with the latest in the drama of his life story with a bi-polar wife.

I wonder just how much of the narrative is true. Maybe he’s a guy that likes a good story. Maybe he changes it with each telling to new customers. Maybe he has a hell of a time creating scenarios that he plans to use in future pitches for scripts.

The flight was uneventful. The seats did have movies on demand on the seat back. I watched three: BlackkKlansman, Crazy Rich Asians, and Concerto of the Bully, which I find has won awards in Hong Kong. It has an intriguing premise, characters with personality and heart, and a tender story line. I recommend it. With all that, a few meals, some wine and a few naps, our arrival time arrived pretty quickly.

I did snag a swag bag once again from first class. Here is a photo.

We got settled in the Air BNB place. It’s okay. Not as nice as some, nicer than some. We are in the San Telmo neighborhood which is purported to be one of the more charming areas of BA. I’d heard that BA is the Paris of South America.I’m not seeing it yet. Nor feeling it. So far, it feels more like Mexico. I believe I need a good night of sleep and a fresh perspective. And more walking around.

Here is a photo that reminded me of Portugal.

That’s all the photos I took today. Tomorrow I’ll have re-freshed eyes and being.

January 14, 2019

Something I’ve noticed about people in Buenos Aires. When you are walking and people approach from the other direction, particularly on a collision course, they always turn their heads or look away with their eyes so they can pretend they do not see you. I suspect it is because that if they can’t see you its up to you to step aside. Perhaps they are like that in all big cities, but I prefer the way I am familiar with. You acknowledge one another and in an instant negotiate who is to adjust their path. I’m thinking of doing the same sometime and walk into someone just for the heck of heck of it and then offer profuse apologies.

I’m like that in cities. It seems there are always jerks in front of me who are walking too slow and assholes behind me that are always trying to get around me. Don’t they know I’m walking here? Paula asks me sometimes, why it is I think I want to go to India?

We had a good walk today. We decided on some errands to address some shortcomings at our apartment, the most pressing of which is that there is no equipment for making coffee. We thought it would be a fairly easy thing to get a relatively inexpensive French press, but could not find one anywhere. We finally found a small strainer that will let us make cowboy coffee at least. It will go in our travel drawer and make many future trips with us.

The guide book says that during the summer people flee the “sweltering heat” of Buenos Aires. I must say I was a little concerned about that, but if today is an indication of what is meant by “sweltering” I just have to say “bring it on.” It was a sunny day with intermittent clouds and a nice cooling breeze. Nothing at all like a summer day in Albuquerque.

Our initial objective was to walk in the Reserva Ecologico, which ended up being closed on Monday. It was on that walk that we recognized that many businesses are closed on Monday, including banks, which be extension means that ATM machines are not refilled, so finding cash is a bit tough. We ran across a Hilton hotel, and figuring they have the clientele that expect to have proper service and would have an ATM freshly stocked with Argentine pesos. We were right, which was a relief since we were down to about ten bucks equivalent.

I finally figured out a heuristic to convert pesos to dollars. Since the exchange is normally 36 – 37 pesos per dollar, I figure divide the peso price by 40 and add ten percent of the quotient. That seems to get us close enough.

Paula tells me she heard that Buenos Aires is the Paris of South America. We came into a few neighborhoods that might resemble that analogy, provided there are portions of Paris with torn up sidewalks and trash strewn on the street. I would not say our experience is anything close to Paris, but there is a charm to BsAs that makes the experience enjoyable.

We have had a few really good craft beers and met an elderly gentlemen who enthusiastically explained the history of BA, along with map references and construction information on the basilica and convent we stopped in by chance. We are beginning to get our bearings.

For dinner we went to El Federal Bar that is in the guide book as a relatively inexpensive place to eat. We encountered a waiter who is quite adept as upselling the menu. I tend to approach those attempts cynically, thinking that he/she is only trying to spend more money, but in this case I decided to believe he wanted us to have a great dining experience. We paid more than we had planned but had a fabulous dinner at a fraction of what it would cost in the US.

Following are a few photos for the day.

I don’t know what this is, but i liked the image of a smith (of sorts) on top of the building. This was taken while we were having a craft beer in our neighborhood.

Inside the Basilica Nuestra de la Merced. This is a very old cathedral, founded near the time of the founding of Buenos Aires.

This is the entrance to the convent attached to the Basilica. Paula and I are in dispute about which building is older, but since I am older, and thence more enlightened, I am right by default.

The courtyard of the Convento is not really well maintained, but it is a pleasant and peaceful spot.

On the way back into the city from the locked entrance to the Ecological Preserve we walked along a shaded sidewalk next to the lake.

A view of the Puerto Madero skyline.

Here is another view of the Puerto Madero skyline. This was taken while we enjoyed a cool IPA at a craft brewery near the canal.

Your guess is a good as mine. Perhaps a protector of the Coast Guard? Not having a lot of luck researching this.

Another nice path in a park near the Ecological preserve.

January 13, 2019

I am coming to the conclusion that I really don’t like to travel. I do enjoy being in different places and experiencing new things, but the whole deal about getting there is not a lot of fun. The first day in a new place is frequently characterized by crankiness and short temper. I would like to encourage our famous science and engineering establishment to actually invent teleportation and not just talk about it.

The flight from Houston to Buenos Aires was non-eventful but long and filled with turbulence.

We arrived in BsAs under overcast skies with light rain. The temperature was very comfortable and the rain stopped by the time we got to our apartment.

We have a well located BandB apartment that is definitely worth the price. I think, though, perhaps we should have spent more. Since we generally do not spend a lot of time in our accomodations, we tend to skimp on that and focus our budget on experiences. This will definitely be a good spot to settle in for two weeks.

This afternoon we walked, or perhaps better said “inched”, our way through the Sunday market, which was very large and filled with a lot of local handicraft. We basically spent the time appreciating the wares and trying to come up with a quick method to convert pesos to dollars in my head.

Our trip to the market was highlighted by an attempted scam that is common here. The scam is that someone sprays some gunk on you and then tries to help you clean it off while picking your pockets. We were wise to it immediately, but still ended up with a bunch of slime on our clothes. In a sense being a target of a scam that you’ve read about is a lot like seeing scenes from your home town in a major movie. At least I think so, though the only thing my home town was know for was being the center of population distribution in the US in 1980. Oh, yes, also being listed as the number one city in Missouri for having the most uneducated population.

We ate a modest lunch at the market, though we ignored the siren call of the many parrailleda offerings. We did have another unique experience where a man passing by determined we had finished eating and grabbed some of the food in Paula’s plate.

We called it quits shortly thereafter, went to the grocery store and went home to fall asleep in the living room by mid afternoon.

No photos today. Tomorrow we will explore the city.

January 11, 2019

Well, we are at it again. Another long trip to exotic lands begins tomorrow. It seems a bit strange that we can just go about our daily lives and then suddenly show up at in a foreign country with no permission needed other than a treaty negotiated by people we have never met.

Tomorrow we begin our first visit to the southern hemisphere. Our itinerary will include Argentina, Uruguay and Chile. Weather forecast for Buenos Aires indicates we will be successful in escaping winter this year.

Watch this space for updates.