A Send Off For a Friend

Today is Kristine's last day here in Argentina. Tomorrow she will fly away to Quito via Panama, but you can't really count that as a day since she's going to the airport early in the morning. We've pretty much covered all of the bases here in Buenos Aires, mostly because so many museums are closed either for repairs or due to Swine Flu. Yet we still have some things to do.

She was going to surprise me with a gift, but she wanted to know what kind of Mate gourd I would like, so now we have to go in search of one. Mate is the typical tea everyone drinks here, and though it's bitter and hot the first few tries, eventually you get used to it. I was planning on buying my own eventually, but Kristine insists on getting me something. We walked around a while yesterday trying to find the right one, but all we found were touristy ones with intricate designs, and I just want a regular one that locals have.

After talking to some people we were advised to go to Once, the neighborhood that my mother once lived in, to find a regular Mate gourd. So this morning we will head to Once and try our luck. After that we'll come back to my apartment so she can pick up the rest of her luggage, drop that off at her hostel, and then get some work done. By work done, I mean Kristine will go to a beauty salon for an hour or so and I'll get a 5 minute hair cut, then sit around.

Other plans for the day include meeting up with her boyfriends' sister, who lives in Buenos Aires, to bring some things back to Ecuador with her. We also want to try eating at a restaurant called Siga La Vaca, which is an all you can eat steak house where they also serve you a liter of wine, beer, or soda. It might be a little expensive by our standards here, but after all, you get all you can eat Argentinian steak and wine. Not too bad.

Three things we had planned on doing constantly on this trip were eating steak, drinking wine, and watching or dancing Tango. The first two were done very well, but we never found a Tango show. Kristine's hostel actually gives free lessons on Thursdays, so we're going to participate in that tonight, then head out with the hostel group to a Milonga, a place where you can see a Tango show and then dance too. So without trying to get all of the last sites crammed in, we're simply going to have a nice little day together and then go our separate ways. I'm going to be sad to see her go.