The last Cortado

I’ll miss these little coffees…

Last night drinks

Last night we went for drinks at some erotic bar/restaurant with dim lighting and everything red, including velvet curtains, that has sexy shows on their tiny stage. But last night it was just a guy playing guitar and singing. A flyer for another night of the week with a more erotic performance has been decorated with red velvet and flowers made to look like a vagina. The menu had options like, “Spill your seed on me” soup. We were only there for drinks–walked over to have steak again at our favorite parilla, Miranda, for dinner–and found this place on the way back to our hotel.

No one spoke much English, so it was unclear if drinks were going to be made at first. The woman who cashes checks for the wait staff gave us the drink menu, took our order, and after we told her what we wanted, she snapped something about having no bartender. Then, nothing happened for a while and while we sat there wondering if we should make our own drinks, a waiter was found to do the job. He did fine, and it was amusing to watch him scramble behind the bar, having no idea where things were located.

Salta’s holiest day is today

We’ve been seeing pilgrims walking into town for today’s celebration that wards off earthquakes. They walk for weeks!

http://www.altroturismo.com.ar/en/news/4

Forget the kitchen sink, give me the farm

Our mixed grill (called parillado) at the parilla included: chorizo (sausage), a few beef steaks, a piece of goat, beef ribs, a chicken breast, a pork chop, black pudding, large intestine, thymus gland, and udder.

I pretty much skipped the offal (but did take 1 bite of each) and split the rest with Ben. We ate this around 11 pm and went to bed at 12:30. I fear the scale when I get home.

Seven steaks in 6 days

Ben has eaten more steak than I (the post title is his words), but we’re going to a parilla (steakhouse) for dinner tonight and I will try to catch up–dinner here starts at 9:30 / 10:00; some people sup at midnight! Nothing like eating 1/2 kilo of meat (the standard portion size) at, say, 10:30 before going to bed only a few hours later. Makes for weird dreams.

Besides beef steak I have had: lamb, lama, and goat. They love grilled meat here, as much as wine–it’s drunk with both lunch and dinner. How will I get used to salads for dinner at 7:30 when Im back home?!?

The Andes

The view from our room at the Cavas Wine Lodge in Mendoza

Wine tasting all day!

Mendoza is famous for Malbec, but they also grow many others grapes. They say visiting wineries here is like Napa 30 years ago: not commercialized and a very personal experience. I wouldn’t know because I was only allowed to drink milk back then, but it was definitely a pleasant day. My tongue was purple at the end!

Dulce de Leche

The national addiction (besides coffee, wine, and empanadas) is milk caramel. This was a snack on the airplane.

On to Mendoza

We’re flying to Mendoza today–it’s the wine region, famous for Malbec. Good bye Buenos Aires (and hopefully rain).

View this a.m. from hotel room:

Tango is dead

Our driver last night said tango is for old people (like his father, who must be close to 80) and tourist shows…real tango is old fashioned and dead. We were looking for a milonga (the Argentine word for dance hall or dance event) to watch everyday people dance the tango, but only found a small one in a decrepit (but at one time grand) building that smelled like an old lady’s cat box…and it was full of white haired geezers like the driver promised.

We had seen an excellent tango show the night before–a professional operation compared to a broadway production in terms of quality…which made the pathetic turn out and quality of dancing (picture your grandma and grandpa trying to kick their feet up to their shoulders without it being the horrible result of a fall down stairs) at the milonga all the more sad.

People come here to live so they can learn the dance–there are travel books written about it, so I have to wonder…