Argentina
The Two-Timer Tour
18 August - 29 August 2012
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I had a friend that told me on many an occasion that I was 'charmed' which seemed to me a very nice and quite diplomatic way of saying ' I think you're one lucky MOFO'. On reflection I have to admit that I never really liked the way in which she said it, actually I quite took offence because it insinuated that good things merely fell into my lap, in a shower of gifts from the Gods type of scenario, and this I can wholeheartedly say has never been the case. I've always had it in my mind that to be 'charmed' or 'lucky' you had to actively place yourself in the position where it could find you. I mean you can't win the lottery without going out and buying a ticket...although we did have a client walk into our office a few days ago telling us that he had received an e-mail from Ghana, explaining to us in very great detail that he was to be the sole inheritor of $2.5 million in gold. The work that he asked us to undertake related to 'getting his documents in order' and also included the firm instructions of telling us that his wife was not to know. Still now I wonder as to the aspect of not telling his wife and wonder if it related to the fact that once he received his fabled $2.5 million that he was going to bail quicker than you could say Hassan M'souli, or, that he really didn't want his wife to know that he was in actual fact quite a naive dumb arse spending exorbitant amounts on the services of a law firm for the sake of a whim.
As I said earlier, I do take small offence to the 'charmed' aspect but I do however admit to having an understanding with the universe when it comes to travel. This little adventure being a key example.So I was sitting back at home one Sunday morning and thinking to myself, now where in the world would you like to go after you complete your PLT, if you had the means? Immediately Buenos Aires popped into my head, along with the formidable price tag, airfares alone coming in at $2500. But don't fear! As I said, the universe and I have this thing. It goes something like this, I think it, I secretly ask for it, and somehow the universe kind enough to deliver the key which more often than not lets me open the door to what I was looking for. Fast forward two weeks later, a Sunday morning in late April, and I swing to the travel pages, as is quite standard for me. Two pages turned and there jumping out at me was an Aerolineas Argentinas advert announcing return airfares to Buenos Aires for under $1000!!! 'HELLO, did someone just call my name!?'. I had myself locked into a return airfare to BA by mid-morning on the Monday.
Why Buenos Aires you ask? Well, it's simple, we ALSO have a thing. I think if I ever got into a relationship with someone then I would probably cheat on them with Buenos Aires. 'So you have to work this weekend Henry?', would actually mean that I'm running away for a few days in order to put myself into a meat and malbec induced coma. 'Oh, a funeral to attend, how unfortunate for you', would in turn equate to an empanada, tango and chorizo infested break from reality where my veins would run wild with sweet reds imported from Mendoza and the nights would inevitably involve me propping my head up in some random bar along the cobblestoned backstreets of San Telmo.
I read a quote that Paulo Coehlo stole from some else recently, and it went a little something like this;
I like travelling solo. Friends have often asked me why it is that I'm so 'weird' in this regard and also for that fact that I have quite frequently travelled with guests and co-conspirators. Often after answering with the standard response, 'I enjoy the freedom and not having to constantly consider the well being and type of time my friends are having', the real reason that I find myself encountering is that travelling solo for me becomes a time when I can just forget everything else and connect with who I am. I mean that might sound cheesy but then again I always did enjoy a slice of Stilton.
My main destination for this escapade is going to be Buenos Aires. As a second time visitor, in a complete 'two-timing' sense I'm looking forward to utilising little inside knowledge that I already have on the place that swept me off my feet some two years ago. Kind of a butch thing for a sultry seductress like her, but you know, I'm OK with that ......
Alright then, HERE WE GO >>>>>>
The Two-Timer Tour
18 August - 29 August 2012
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San Telmo - Buenos Aires - 2010
If you do not go after what you want you'll never have it
If you do not ask the answer will always be no
If you do not step forward you'll always be in the same place
In the tradition of other kick-off write ups such as 'Life in a year full of Saturdays', 'The wing and a prayer tour', 'Don't call this a comeback', and '43: The tour of awesome', I bring you Argentina - The two-timer tour.
I had a friend that told me on many an occasion that I was 'charmed' which seemed to me a very nice and quite diplomatic way of saying ' I think you're one lucky MOFO'. On reflection I have to admit that I never really liked the way in which she said it, actually I quite took offence because it insinuated that good things merely fell into my lap, in a shower of gifts from the Gods type of scenario, and this I can wholeheartedly say has never been the case. I've always had it in my mind that to be 'charmed' or 'lucky' you had to actively place yourself in the position where it could find you. I mean you can't win the lottery without going out and buying a ticket...although we did have a client walk into our office a few days ago telling us that he had received an e-mail from Ghana, explaining to us in very great detail that he was to be the sole inheritor of $2.5 million in gold. The work that he asked us to undertake related to 'getting his documents in order' and also included the firm instructions of telling us that his wife was not to know. Still now I wonder as to the aspect of not telling his wife and wonder if it related to the fact that once he received his fabled $2.5 million that he was going to bail quicker than you could say Hassan M'souli, or, that he really didn't want his wife to know that he was in actual fact quite a naive dumb arse spending exorbitant amounts on the services of a law firm for the sake of a whim.
As I said earlier, I do take small offence to the 'charmed' aspect but I do however admit to having an understanding with the universe when it comes to travel. This little adventure being a key example.So I was sitting back at home one Sunday morning and thinking to myself, now where in the world would you like to go after you complete your PLT, if you had the means? Immediately Buenos Aires popped into my head, along with the formidable price tag, airfares alone coming in at $2500. But don't fear! As I said, the universe and I have this thing. It goes something like this, I think it, I secretly ask for it, and somehow the universe kind enough to deliver the key which more often than not lets me open the door to what I was looking for. Fast forward two weeks later, a Sunday morning in late April, and I swing to the travel pages, as is quite standard for me. Two pages turned and there jumping out at me was an Aerolineas Argentinas advert announcing return airfares to Buenos Aires for under $1000!!! 'HELLO, did someone just call my name!?'. I had myself locked into a return airfare to BA by mid-morning on the Monday.
Why Buenos Aires you ask? Well, it's simple, we ALSO have a thing. I think if I ever got into a relationship with someone then I would probably cheat on them with Buenos Aires. 'So you have to work this weekend Henry?', would actually mean that I'm running away for a few days in order to put myself into a meat and malbec induced coma. 'Oh, a funeral to attend, how unfortunate for you', would in turn equate to an empanada, tango and chorizo infested break from reality where my veins would run wild with sweet reds imported from Mendoza and the nights would inevitably involve me propping my head up in some random bar along the cobblestoned backstreets of San Telmo.
I read a quote that Paulo Coehlo stole from some else recently, and it went a little something like this;
'Solitude is not the absence of company but rather the moment when our soul is free to speak to us and help us decide what we want to do with out life'
I like travelling solo. Friends have often asked me why it is that I'm so 'weird' in this regard and also for that fact that I have quite frequently travelled with guests and co-conspirators. Often after answering with the standard response, 'I enjoy the freedom and not having to constantly consider the well being and type of time my friends are having', the real reason that I find myself encountering is that travelling solo for me becomes a time when I can just forget everything else and connect with who I am. I mean that might sound cheesy but then again I always did enjoy a slice of Stilton.
My main destination for this escapade is going to be Buenos Aires. As a second time visitor, in a complete 'two-timing' sense I'm looking forward to utilising little inside knowledge that I already have on the place that swept me off my feet some two years ago. Kind of a butch thing for a sultry seductress like her, but you know, I'm OK with that ......
Alright then, HERE WE GO >>>>>>
