Back to Argentina…
Oct 10th, 2008 by Dale Baskin
SEATTLE – Back to Argentina? What? If you read the last post on this blog you might think I had never left. Of course you might also notice that the last post was well over a year ago. So first let me bring you up to speed on what has happened since that last entry…
I left Buenos Aires and traveled through Brazil, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador. I traveled the entire length of the Amazon River by boat (twice!), was arrested in Venezuela, robbed by machine gun-toting bandits in Guyana, had my passport stolen in Peru, and was refused entry to Ecuador on a few occasions. I eventually made it back to the U.S. where I spent a few months writing a book (still unpublished) and tried to re-adjust to life in North America. Which more or less brings us up to the present. Whew!
But I left my heart in Argentina. I’m not quite sure what it is about Argentina that completely drew me in – the crazy mix of Latin American and European culture, the amazing steaks, or the constant consumption of mate – but I fell in love with Argentina. Tomorrow I’m finally headed back for a visit, and this time I’ll be accompanied by my friend Mona. Our rough plan is to spend a few days in Buenos Aires, head to Patagonia, and drive the remote “Ruta 40″ highway that runs down the eastern side of the Andes. Who knows where we’re going to end up. We’ll try to keep you posted!