This post was originally published in March 2009. Confused?
I’ve spent the last couple of weeks back in Buenos Aires, not doing very much except wandering around, catching up with friends. And very nice it’s been too. The blog will go quiet for a month or so from now as I’m off again in a couple of days, first to Uruguay and then into Brazil. I’ve heard lots of wonderful things about Brazil, but also I know that petty crime is rife so I won’t be taking the laptop.

My time here has been full of the usual Buenos Aires unpredictability. I went with a couple of French friends to an exhibition of Patagonian photography at the Alliance Francaise only to find it full of beautiful people, including the French Ambassador (although he wasn’t very beautiful to be fair). Drank a few glasses of champagne and watched with fascination the behaviour of the other guests every time a plate of food was brought out. My experience of these things is that you keep an eye on the guy and when he passes within an acceptable distance, say one metre, you subtly step forward and swipe a goodie from the tray. Not here, The second he stepped into the room the poor guy was swamped with people running (literally) towards him. The whole lot was gone in a matter of seconds. Like feeding time at the zoo.

Which brings me rather neatly to what I did yesterday. Went to the zoo! Yay! A rather strange affair with some big exotic animals mixed in with more mundane ones. The little cocker spaniel in the bear enclosure wasn’t having a very good time. But the strangest thing is that they let you in to pet the animals. And we’re not talking goats and donkeys, we’re talking TIGERS.

Nervous

I must point out that in this cage was another tiger and a bloody great lion:

GRAR

I’m all against animal cruelty obviously but these things had better been drugged out of their tiny minds. That’s all I’m saying. A very South American day out.