Dave Ford Does Earth

Posted by Dave Ford

Thanks to everyone for the positive feedback. I appreciate it. I am finally starting to figure out how to work this damn thing. Look for some more additions in the next couple of weeks. The comment section has been turned on so anyone can comment if they like.  OK, where do I begin? It has been a crazy last few days and we have covered quite a bit of ground. I am now back in Buenos Aires. We traveled from Villa Gesell to Mar Del Plata on Saturday to spend a few more days at the beach–then headed back to BA this morning by bus.

Mar Del Plata is beautiful.

While in Villa Gesell we heard that there was a friendly off-season-soccer-match between Boca Juniors and River Plate in Mar Del Plata. Boca and River are the number one and number two soccer clubs in Argentina. The rivalry between these two teams is anything but friendly. None of us are huge soccer fans outside of the World Cup. But, the classic rivalry between these two teams made the game a priority. People are so crazy about soccer down here. Think American Football, Basketball, Ice Hockey, and Baseball all put together. The rivalry is best compared to the Yankees vs the Red Sox. Its really the only sport people care about in Argentina. So, we jumped on a bus without yet securing tickets and crossed our fingers. We figured we could scalp them if we had to.

I went to the game with Lava Lips, the BV Show, and a group of Israelis. Israelis travel after completing their mandatory military service and before they go to college. They probably out number any other nationality in South America.

While Mar Del Plata is a stunningly remarkable city in parts, the soccer stadium was in the G H E T T O. As we approached the main gates we were repeatedly reminded to be careful with our valuables. Apparently the hooligans–crazy, mostly impoverished fans–target tourists. So of course, in true form, I brought every single important item that I have in the world. I had my passport, my credit cards, my cell phone, and my camera.  I managed to rig my money belt so that it hung down in the inside of my pants to about knee level. I tied it to my belt loop. To further complicate things, I needed to get into the pouch 3 or 4 times after I rigged it up. I spent much of the game with my both hands down my pants.

The rivalry between these two teams is intense and the teams truly hate each other. Police lined the streets and stands in full riot gear. No alcohol whatsoever was served at the match. The hooligans took over the section in the middle of the public seating (basically standing room behind the goals). The fans wave flags, and consistently light flairs. Many of them stood up on top of the railings balancing themselves with flags they tie to the sectional dividing bars. From the time we got there until the time we left the crowd did not stop chanting and singing. We did not know what the hell we were singing but we joined in.

The stands are divided into a River section and a Boca section. The fans in the publica (general admission) section cannot co-mingle. There are fences dividing the respective fan bases.  At the end of the game the losing teams fans had to exit first. One hour later, they let the winning teams fans leave. During the game everyone in the stands sports team colors. River is white while Boca is blue. But on the street after the game they all take off the shirts and jerseys. There is very violent history between these two teams. Many people have died when these teams have played over the years.

Boca–the favorite–and our team for the day played terribly. They got shutout 2 to zip.

Almost Lost at Sea

The next day at the beach we met up with 3 more Aussies in Mar Del Plata. A few of the guys and I were out swimming in the Ocean and it was pretty rough. The waves were really pounding us and the riptide was strong.  After 15 minutes or so I had enough in and headed back in. One of the new Aussie guys we met, Scott, got sucked out by the riptide and had to be rescued by the lifeguards. It was a full scale operation. Thank god nothing bad happened. When he walked onto the beach the lifeguards had their arms around him and he had a life saving ring around his body. He was greeted by about 500 Argentinians wildly clapping.  Everyone on the beach had come to witness the dramatic rescue.

On the other hand, the Aussie guys I was with thought the whole thing was the funniest thing they had ever seen. They were doubled over in laughter. In the blink of an eye, they ran as fast as they could to the beach to video tape the whole thing once they realized who had been saved. It is going to be a long time before Scotty lives this one down. Our drowning friend is apparently dating a Brazilian Model in Bolivia. In the words of Benny, “This guy is no oil painting!”, which in Australia apparently means he is not blessed with good looks. Soon after we found out she was 17.

The “No Bueno” Bus Station

Ben and I had the bright idea to go straight to the bus station this morning instead of going to bed. We had hopes to catch an early bus to BA and sleep on the 7 hour bus ride. Well, that did not exactly work out so well. We could not get a bus until 1:00 pm, which was a four hour wait. Then, the bus was two hours late. So, not only did we not get any sleep, but we had to sit around in a smelly bus station for 6 hours. It smelled like someone put rotting in a 6 day old full ashtray full.   Everyone in this country smokes! Seriously, everyone!  The police also found it amusing to wake us up every time we dozed off.

Travelers Profile- Paul O’ Hanlon aka Lava Lips

Ben, Paul, and I have traveled together for about a week and a half. Paul grew up in Western Australia in the town of Perth just like Benny, and is going to work as an investment banker in Dublin in March. He has been traveling in South America for about 4 months and plans to head through Central America, Cancun, Miami, and finish up his trip in NYC. His signature phrases are classic. Everything is a “disaster”and all girls not attracted to him are “pirate hookers”.  “Get your rig out!”, “Hola, Hola, Hola!“, and “Gaylord!” are also mainstays in his vocab. He has traveled all over the world–largely due to the fact that his grandfather started Waterford crystals in Ireland. Grandma seems to be very generous in the travel funds department.

Paul said his goodbyes and is heading off to Bariloche in Patagonia.  Benny and I are planning to see a few more of the sites in Buenos Aires and then make our way west and south by the end of the week. I guess getting an apartment in B.A for three weeks is out.

Notes:

• I started reading Atlas Shrugged. Its a 1200 page monster of a book. I think I’m on page 26.

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