heat

Nose is better, chest is still clogged but nose stopped running. Keeping the heat on and drinking a lot of water yesterday helped. But i´m spent. Did more walking today. Museum, hard rock, train station.
One thing I´ve noticed about this city is that were ever you go, even in a dense city spot I´ve seen butterflies at random. It´s kind of cool. Buses, motorcycles, cars drowning out any sense of quiet but a butterfly will pass you by or land on a window then leave.
I´ve also noticed the people here are fast movers. Everyone seems to be headed somewhere quickly but they are still polite and relaxed. Maybe I´m not as sensitive to people at home but here it seems people are more considerate.

ugggggghhhhh....

I¨m sick. I´ve been fighting it but this morning. Headache, fever, runny nose, dense green flem, and my eyes hurt.
If i were at home I would lay in bed or on the couch making low gutteral noises and wait for the cat to try and bury me, but on vacation....fuck that!

I put on a thick cotton shirt and walked. Trying to get my temperature up to kill this thing. Maybe myself too but it´s worked in the past.

Regardless, I got some coffee at mc donalds, drew, caught the subway to try and get to the art museum and got lost.

I was on a subway line for 5 stops. The masses surrounded me. Now normally I hate people but when i travel this is one of the things i love. Strangers from another country just getting from a to b. Businesssmen, housewives, students, workers. Everyone, just riding together. We all know the rules and we are all getting along. Pretty nice.

So I¨m getting off the train. My head full of flem when i hear...¨dum dah dum dum dum DUM....dum dah dum dum dum DUM...´´ from a tinny guitar. Single strings, elementary but there...Happy birthday. Now i understand if you are busking and get a crowd of more than 30 people Happy Birthday is a statistical lock to make some money. I took it as a small bit of karma routed my way.

Anyway, on my way to the museum i saw this sign. My spanish is bad so I didnt even ask...WTF?

Went to the post office and picked up stamps. Post guy told me the post office down the block had nicer ones if i wanted something for my book. Now he told me it would be easier to take the subway, but I heard its too far to walk. If you really know me you know what coming...

So it took me about 20 minutes to walk to the next post office and the chairs were full. I pulled number 95 and they were on....I shit you not....22....it was like being at In and Out.

My feet were killing me and i needed to relax so I waited. I slept some and about an hour later I got another stamp for myself.

I got back to the hotel late and showered...then thought fuck...I need more than this...so I ran the tub and layed out. Before slipping into a coma I thought I would update the blog.

Tired now...

Museum tomorrow.
later

in the sun

I had an indication this would be a good day when I woke in the middle of the night to find a documentary on the RAMONES on argentine TV.

I walked about a block from my hotel to find the San Telmo flea market in full force. Block after block, mostly junk, but some interesting art, photos, old watches and music. Music was everywhere. Guitars, drums. As one would trail off another would surge.

Here is a lesson. I stopped at a cafe so I could see an indian performer. I was hungry so I ordered a small cheese and egg thing. A place where the waiter has a napkin on his arm is a bad sign for me and it was. It was bad. The salad was ok and you can´t screw up a coke so that went as planned.

I walked about and after awhile I got hungry. Really hungry. Where am I going to find food? Looking at the restaurants, checking menus and prices. Weighing options. Then I was at the same corner I was earlier. In fact, across the street. Smoke. Good smoke. The smell of meat on a grill was coming from a vacant lot turned into a cafe by three guys with oil drums cut in half and turned into grills.

I¨m convinced no bad food has come out of a oil drum grill.

For a quarter of the price I paid at the brasserie I got a chorizo split in two with fresh tomato slice in a chili sauce and a coke from a trash can filled with ice.

I sat in the shade on a hand made chair at a hand made wooden table and ate. This is living.

Earlier, walking down Defensia the market street was ending but I went a little further and found an old man playing tango guitar and a couple dancing. There are a lot of street tango dancers but this is the only one I found with a live guitar.

Watch the video. The moment was great.



Back at the hotel.

Feet are killing me. I walked all day. Resting a bit until tonight.

We´ll see whats open on a sunday.

later....

buenos

I slept in lima airport last night. 6 hours. and with earplugs and mask it wasn´t as bad as you might think. Fuck those pussies in the airport lounge. Warm towels and internet. About three hours before my plane a family did move into the seats across from me and two shrieking kids made me move but I made my plane and no problems.

Off the plane, I did puss out. I was going to wait for the city bus. 2 Argentine pesos and 2 hours. But it was 80 plus degrees. in the shade I could feel the chocolate bar (submlime extreme from Nestle, terrible chocolate by the way) turning into chocolate sauce, so I jumped on the shuttle 50 argentine pesos. Air conditioned and 40 minutes to the city. I¨m comfortable with the compromise since I was sweating into my shoes.

A quick ride on the subway and I made it to the hotel. Hotel Moreno in the San Telmo part of town. Tomorrow is supposed to be a flea market. Should be cool.

I checked in and slept for 9 hours.

hungry.

Its 2am.

We´ll see what happens.

more later.

lima

midnight. I got here. There was a plane to buenos at 125AM But there was an earthquake last week in Chile, 8.8, that jacked up all the schedules so I´m here until 730am. Five hours from now.
I´ve been through the duty frees. Snacked on free chocolate covered fruits. Sipped short cups of complementary coffee in the shops. I sacked out on the floor and listed to some locals in front of a shop in the airport, and I just had a 20 minute massage for ten USD. NICE! but I still have five hours to kill before i´m moving on.

I could go to the vip lounge. They have a few. One is 50 USD and seems nice but somehow to me, it´s cheating. Part of the fun of these trips are the inconviences, annoyances and bullshit I have to go through to get from a to b.

The last few years I´ve been getting soft. Fewer hostels, less street food. Last year I had a suite on my birthday. C´mon! So I´m drawing the line at the aiport lounge, at least at this point. I swiped the plane pillow and blanket and í´ll camp in behind a kiosk and wait it out.

It´s a little sick but it´s fun. The airport is still kind of happening even at 2am here. Music. People. Shit I´m blogging and there are still plenty of people up here.

I´m beat.

a small bottle of diet coke and free chocolate is not a great way to fuel up.

Great. 4.5 hours left.

Next stop . buenos.
later...

HA!

Bought my clothes...mostly...booked my hotel...have the book...and I"m ripping through work so I can climb on the plane free and unfettered. Thats right I used the word unfettered, I went to college.

Last few years I haven't really be jacked up for my trip until I got on the plane but this year work has been grinding me and a bunch of other stuff I let pile up started to weigh me down but I'm getting that feeling early.

This trip will cross off a big milestone off my list. After this I'll be really over a big set of expectations I've had since I was little.

Nine days until the plane.

Nice...

getting ready

I've been lagging on firming up the arrangements for this years trip. I'm getting burnt out on traveling too.
It's in my nature to rebel against structure, even if the structure is my own design so I'm going to change things a bit.
I've been down for a while. Rallied but down again.
It's temporary but part of the process I go through.
This trip is coming at a good time.