MONEY MATTERS
Through CC I had arranged one outing – a tango show and dinner – with the help of another CC member, Deb. Everything had been done by email except the payment which had to be made in cash by 1pm today. As Deb was also staying at the Sheraton, we met up and walked to the Private Tours office. The office was located on the fifth floor of an old building with an ancient lift and a narrow unlit corridor – and the actual office was not much bigger than a cupboard. We had dealt with Carlos over the internet but unfortunately he wasn’t in – the two staff members present didn’t speak any English but we managed to settle our account and collect our tickets for tonight’s show.
By the time we got outside again it had been raining and the humidity level was increasing. I parted ways with Deb and went for a walk along Avenida Florida
Since I’ve been in Argentina
Christmas decorations are still on display everywhere and in the big shopping gallery nearby, you could have your photo taken with the three kings (the three wise men). Apparently Epiphany is the big celebration here, rather than Christmas. If a young screaming child thought Santa was scary, he should get a look at 3 middle aged men dressed in turbans and robes!
After having such a great stay at the Sheraton in Iguazu, the Sheraton in BA this time round has been less than ideal. Last night after I got to my room the lights went out. Apparently the card reader at the door which controls all power in the room broke so maintenance came up about 10 pm and did a running repair using a folded bit of paper. I then used the room safe and when I went to open it an error message came up – the battery had gone flat. Another visit, this time from Security, sorted that out. As I’ve been on the go since arriving and it’s hot, steamy and wet outside I decided to take it easy this afternoon. Well, now the hotel is having major works done including replacing pipes and they were working on my floor with a jack hammer and sledge hammers. The noise was reverberating through me and finally I gave up and rang Guest Services and asked to be moved. After about half an hour they found another room 4 levels below – and I could still hear the noise but at least now it was bearable.
Twelve of us went to La Ventana this evening to watch the tango show. The van collecting us was 35 minutes late so we weren’t sure if we were going to be picked up and taken for a ride – of if we had already been taken for a ride with a dodgy tour operator. This proved not to be the case and the evening turned out to be a great success. We were picked up and taken to San Telmo and the venue had 3 different levels, each with their own show. We were on the first floor which seated about 80 people, making for quite an intimate setting and were seated next to or near the stage. We were served dinner first then watched as 4 couples danced the tango, plus some Argentinean folk performances by a musician playing a small instrument like a 10 string ukulele and a gaucho performing a take on a traditional dance. Both of these performers were outstanding but unfortunately we weren’t allowed to take photos. It also gave a welcome break in the tango dancing because although the dancing was great and that was the main thing we had gone along to see, you can only take so much of it and you need a little more variety.
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