Captain's Blog

For election day here in Buenos Aires, Argentina, many places are closed. There is also a ban on alcohol from noon to 6pm. So, it’s a great time for a little road trip to Uruguay. I took the fast ferry and arrived in 1 hour.

Iglesia Matriz is the oldest church in Uruguay. This 17th century church was burned down once and reconstructed. I enjoy the pictures of old churches, and this one is so strikingly simple, but yet elegant. This is the normal photo that I would get with a camera. I’ve been learning a new technique called “High Dynamic Range” (HDR). The process involves taking at least 3 photos bracketed. One photo is done normal, one overexposed and one underexposed. I then put them into a program and the program takes the best parts of the photos and merges them into one photo.

And this is the picture after processing. It takes out the shadows and really shows everything up nicely…

This is the side of the main square in the town. Notice the cobblestone streets. The town was made popular in the 1700′s as a smuggling port for goods to Buenos Aires.

This is the Faro (lighthouse) located near the main square. In front are the remains of a convent. Here is the google maps link for the lighthouse in Uruguay.

What would a spanish fort town be without the walls and cannons?

There was a band playing in the main square later on in the day.

Another beautiful day in paradise… If you look closely along the horizon, you can see the tops of the buildings in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Capn Scott

After school today (yep, finally going to Spanish school to correct my grammar)… I figured, I’d troll the normal spots for demonstrations and see if anything interesting was happening.

Immediately, I could see that this demonstration was different. I’ve never seen a demonstration surrounded by so many police. You could feel the tension in the air.

It would get loud for a short period, and then it would calm down. I figured I’d stick around to see how this turns out, but pulled out a medium telephoto lens, so I didn’t have to get in the middle of this.

The Police surrounding the demonstration just kept growning.

I think the Porteños walking by could sense this also. There weren’t as many onlookers, and people were keeping their distance when walking by.

Very quickly, this demonstration was surrounded on all sides. This is when I moved a bit farther back.

Then, these two guys (you can see one and only the hair of the other) got into a rather heated shouting match. Latins are so passionate about politics. Most Latin countries have some demonstrations before major elections. Before you knew it, a full on fight broke out.

The Police collapsed this pocket quickly and it was all over in maybe 3 seconds. The fight was contained immediately.

And, the aftermath of the demonstration was just a pile of stuff to clean up… The primary election for Presidente will be on the 28th. Just 11 more days… I wish the U.S. could be this passionate about politics.  This is shaping up to be a good election…

Capn Scott

I guess, this is beginning to sound like a restaurant guide. The day after I had that great steak, I decided to try out the place on the corner (Yatay and Bodega). I’ve been told that the steaks are pretty incredible here. So, I try it out. The steak was twice as thick, around the same price, 20 pesos ($6.20 U.S.), and definitely more food than you could possibly eat. And, of course, INCREDIBLE!!! I typically order a simple salad with my steak, but if you go there, it’s safer to bring a friend. Only order one salad, it’s big enough for two. If you go there with a friend, and order any dinner for two, you might need to call others for help. They have this thing called parrilla, which is a combination of meats. Just yum!

There is a kind of appetizer that they serve. In other restaurants, it’s peanuts, potato chips and the fried chow mein noodles. Here, it’s a small cold meat salad, with onions and stuff, either a small potato salad, or like today, a pate, and then some summer sausage. Again, Yum! I figured that I needed a change from the beef of the past few weeks, so I decided upon chicken. As I walked in, I saw what looked like huge cut turkey stuff on the grill. Quickly, I changed my mind for the turkey… If these guys keep this up, they’ll never get rid of me… I ask the waiter for this, and he explains that those were chickens… WOW!!!

Noone could possibly ask, “Where’s the beef?”

When I did the photos of the Sarmiento, I stopped afterwards for lunch at Hooters. I ordered chicken wings. They came in the 10, 20, 30 and more packs. I figured, okay, I’ll take the 20. The girl looked at me funny, but, I dismissed it. Those were the biggest wings that I’ve ever seen, until today. I only finished about 10 of them.

These guys are seriously cooking some meat here…

The chicken was good, the salad was good. Not too expensive, around 10 pesos ($3.10 U.S.) . Been learning the customs and the difference in the language. Everyone here kisses everyone on the cheek when they meet, even the guys. It’s a bit different learning how to kiss a guy on the cheek…

Capn Scott

Well, even crusty old Captains have birthdays. I figured that I’d go out and celebrate with a great meal. I’ve been wanting to go to a great steak house and sample the famous Argentinian beef. So far, I’ve had a few steaks at a local pizzeria, and they were excellent.

On the way, bumped into another demonstration. It’s getting close to elections and the people of Buenos Aires are very passionate about their views. This was a group of motorcycles that blocked a main passage.

And, quietly off to the side, the police are ready to keep the peace. These guys are definitely the strong silent type. They respect peoples rights to have opinions and really don’t interfere.

The police force here is very quickly gaining my respect. The police of the U.S. could come down here and learn some things from these professionals. The officers quickly diverted traffic, and after 20 minutes, the demonstrators were no longer blocking traffic and drove off to demonstrate elsewhere.

I showed up at Spettus Steak House (almost in front of the frigate Presidente Sarmiento) around 3ish. I had 4 waiters available, and the service was incredible.

Probably one of the best steaks that I’ve ever had. Everything they say good about the steaks in Argentina is true. Just incredible…

Later on stopped at a local watering hole and had a few beers to finish off a great day. Did I say how beautiful the women are, here in Buenos Aires???

Capn Scott

It is true that Buenos Aires really begins to party late at night. A group of friends invited me to tour the museums for the “Noche de Museos”. This night of museums commemorates the liberation of Argentina 200 years ago, this year.

The history of the liberation was told through comic book style drawings.

There were also many exhibits of the tools, arms and things of the era.

This museum was in the Cabildo (jailhouse).

Also some of the hats, arms and monies.

The night began around 10pm and this photo was shot around 1am.  Look… there’s even a crusty old Capn in the back row.  The night ended after 3 am.  It was really difficult flagging down a taxi at that time.  It took me about 14 blocks to find one empty…

Capn Scott