argentina

7 posts

Views of Three Southernmost Points

big_island_2007As an unorthodox traveler, I, by default, choose unorthodox destinations. Here are three.

1. Southernmost point of the 50 United States.  Ka Lae (South Point), Big Island of Hawaii.

Subjectively, this is the most fascinating of the three. A 12-mile roughly paved road leads you from the main ring road that hugs the circumference of the Big Island to South Point. It is very windy, as evidenced by the funny looking trees; the huge, rusting windmills; and well, the wind. Once in a while, cattle will randomly appear. Continue reading

Fly Fishing In Tierra del Fuego

Yesterday, we visited penguins. Today, we go trout fishing! Marge (not my wife’s real name) booked a guide to take us out. When I found out the price for the day trip (equivalent to what I spent over eight days during my solo bus trip), I was pretty peeved, to say the least. While we waited for our guide to pick us up at the hotel, I sarcastically said– For that price, he better pick us up in a Land Rover Defender 110.

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An Unsuccessful Attempt at Crossing the Strait of Magellan

The 8 1/2 hours of sleep on a horizontal hotel mattress was pure bliss. You see, I just spent the last four days riding one bus after another for 5,000 kilometers– down the entire length of Chile. I planned on waking up early so that I could walk around the town of Punta Arenas and take pictures of cars, but I am still tired and it’s windy outside.

On my hotel room TV, CNN is doing a story about how Unilever is profiting in Kenya by selling consumer goods like soap in single servings. This reminds me of my friend’s parents’ liquor store in Los Angeles, which sells individual cigarettes to the poor because they don’t have the money to buy an entire pack.

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Riverplate Soccer Relegation Sparks Riots in Argentina


One of the most storied soccer clubs in South America, River Plate of Argentina, a club which has won the Argentinian league 33 times in its 110 year history, was yesterday relegated to the 2nd division for the first time ever.

River Plate fans did not take this well. Their final match was stopped a minute before the appropriately-named injury time as irate fans, obviously not believing in their team mounting a comeback from 2 goals down, began to charge the ground and throw objects at the players and referees.  Opposition fans were forced to stay for hours in a closed off section of the stadium surrounded by police, while River Plate fans set things on fire, smashed shops, threw rocks at the police, and generally behaved like soccer hooligans. Continue reading