Half Pinta: August 2011

Wednesday, 24 August 2011

Derelict buildings in Colonia, Uruguay

The now derelict 'Plaza de Toros Real de San Carlos' Bullring opened 1910, and closed 1912 when bullfighting was banned in Uruguay. Its stands in the same area as the racecourse and Jai -Alai court (below) and was part a tourist complex with its hotels and the like.

Now days however, both buidings stand as 'eery monuments of better times. The Jai-Alai court confused me completely, its only now back in Argentina with the help of google I think i know what it is. The bullring's very thin outer wall is crumbling to reveal its iron inner structure. On the day we visited the whole area was populated by a few dogs and the odd scooter, im told in the summer its much more lively..

Friday, 12 August 2011

Pava eléctrico, para Mate

Mate doesnt need boiling water you see, it needs to be 75 or 80 (and most argetntines like mate) so kettles are different here. Its pretty amazing, no more over heating the water and starting again, like i seem to do most of the time. fantastic.

Monday, 8 August 2011

{my first} Critical mass 07.08.11

Sunday was critical mass in Buenos Aires, and a big turn out for the middle of winter. We met by the Obelisk amongst hundreds of small girls in justin bieber t shirts, filming something for MTV. As is the way with tv, he wasnt anywhere to be seen, but they were all screaming en-mas in that terrible pitch reserved exclusively for young girls.

Then somehow we started and head off down Corrientes towards the river. For the first part of the first street it seemed like a fairly small group of people, quite far apart from each other, just ambling along but by the first turn as Corrientes slopes down towards Puerto Madreo i look back to see hundreds following. (open the 4th photo of the post and look towards the back) It was quite amazing, especially in a town where the bike is by no means popular, common, or even that safe. But the bike community was truly out in full, many with "bici si , auto no" or similar signs hanging from panier racks. A couple of guys had speakers attached to their bikes pumping out cheesy tracks and a there was a mobile band, one bike with a blow-operated piano, one with some maracas, one with a drum, playing some fun music for the rest. (see video)

A friend i met up with on the ride tells me the image of biking here is still very much associated with being poor and so many people dont even consider using one. As you can imagine the group of several hundred riders slowing the traffic to a crawl in central Buenos Aires, even on a sunday didnt go down well and the car horns continued on and off for the whole ride. Critical mass always has an element of protest to it but it did feel particularly piognant here as being a cyclist is really quite difficult. The vibe was really relaxed and many people were sharing around food and drink etc. As an example, a little way into the ride my tyre ran flat (and my spanish is weak to say the least) but in no time i had two people offering up pumps and directions to the nearest garage.

We went down to the docks and along by the river then back towards Palermo, circulating for quite a few hours before heading back to the Obelisk . As we came to junctions the first few riders stopped and blocked off the traffic and there would often be 'confrontations' with car drivers. Each time this happened the driver was talked to calmly by the cyclists and handed one of the flyers at the top of the post. It explains the carbon debt created by each car and the amount of trees that would need to be planted to offset this amount. These angry people were however in the minority and most drivers seemed as excited as we were at the spectacle. (Fortunately each time i stopped to block the traffic, none of the drivers got that mad. )

It was great fun and a great mix of ages and types of people, (and bikes). Afterwards a bunch of us went down to the edge of the ecological reserve for a steak sandwich and a beer.