Una Moto en Argentina!!!!!!!

None of these cities were terribly exciting, and in fact I don’t think I will write about them.

Due to rain and sickness, I had to turn back towards Buenos Aires sooner than I expected. This is ok though. I have been sick and really worn down and sometimes you need to listen when your bod says something. I never used to listen, but being sola in Argentina has taught me that lesson.

In fact, Argentina has taught me a few lessons. First, I am no longer embarassed to try and use my spanish. I used to be really shy about it but the people here in Argentina/Chile have been sooooo cool about it that I really came out of my shell on this one. Some of the words I’ve picked up are useful and some are amusing. I got to know what a “gomeria” is (tire repair shop), what basura is (garbage), and my personal fav “cloaca”, which is sewer. There are lots of others but these were the most random. Anyway, I am keen to get back to spanish classes and actually speak. Where I struggle the most is listening. I need to be able to comprehend more. I can usually through a limited vocabulary and charades make my point across.

The second thing I learned while on this trip was that it is in fact OK to ask for help. I’ve always been so fiercely independent that I’ve often not done something rather than ask for help. While riding around on a bike that is much heavier than I’m used to, I’ve had to ask for help on more than a few occassions. I’ve gotten help from men in estaciones de servico and chicas at hostels. Always someone is willing to lend a hand, especially when you ask nicely.

But I have digressed. I ran through these cities and while they weren’t the most amazing of towns, the people were, as usual, fantastic. All over in both Argentina and Chile, the main attraction has been the people. Yes, there was jaw dropping riding, but I never expected the people to blow my socks off.

So on my last night before coming back to Buenos Aires, I stayed in a swanky place ($50) that was the size of my apartment. I watched movies and read all night - it was just what I needed before the final haul back to BA. I was a little worried because I had never told the guy I rented the bike from I was coming today and I was hoping the shop would be open. Luckily, the shop is right off the highway, and he was there within seconds of me showing up.

Mariano checked out the bike and didn’t care that I had scratched it a bit and busted the mirror. COOL. He then called around to a few hostels for me and we found one in the Microcentro for me in a nice old building. He suggested that I take the train to the main train station and then grab a taxi. Mariano would drop me off at the train, but this meant putting ALL my gear on the back of the Transalp he was riding. Now, my mom and boyfriend both saw the amount of crap I had with me before I went to the airport. All of that, plus me, plus Mariano, fit on a bike. It was a stressful 8 blocks to the train, I must admit.

Anyway, now I’m here in BA, settled, cleaned, and relaxing. I had a beer with my sad lunch of gnocchi with pesto sauce. I plan on doing nothing for the remainder of the day. Tomorrow I will be a tourist, but for now, I don’t care. Check back tomorrow for pics!!!

Tags: 1, Argentina, Tag Index

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 12th, 2009 at 4:56 pm and is filed under Argentina. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.