Don't cry for me in Argentina!

Devil's throat of Igauzu Falls. Brazil on the left.
4 Musketeers on the ship
Casa Rosada, no longer a residence
Ave 9 de Mayo - main drag through BA. Offices we met in to left of tallest building. The glass building.
I realized the other day that in just a little over a year I have been as far north and south as I have ever been in my life. Last year in was 59 deg 45 min north at Hubbard glacier and now 35 deg 34 min south at Buenos Aires!
I discovered that if you are taking a long flight that business or 1st class is the only way to go. My space was about 3 feet wide and 7 feet long. When my seat made into a bed I still had room at each end!! It was awesome!
Arrival in BA was just after sunrise and we were in our hotel by 10. So we spent the rest of the day walking around town seeing what we could. It was spring there so there were a lot of flowering trees, none that I recognized. BA is big - about 5 million and it was very friendly. Not everyone spoke English but enough did to get by - plus one of our party was from Mexico. People walking down the street do smile and often speak when you catch their eye. That part was enkoyable. The apartment buildings there looked a lot like the ones in Paris. Their historical places are all documented in Spanish, unlike Paris, so it was hard to get a feel for what we were seeing.
We saw the Casa Rosada where Evita made her plea and we visited an 1878 navy frigate. It was fun showing my comrades how various things worked on the ship and a group of late teens/early 20's kids started tagging along to hear about it. There were bilingual so we got to visit with them so we understood.
We had 3 days of meetings and discovered that the Argentinians eat a big breakfast, have a snack for lunch about one or two and quit work about 7 and eat a big late dinner. That was not good for my system
Wednesday evening 3 of us went to a Tango show that started at 10:30. It was fun to see even though we were in the back of the theater because we refused to pay $137 for tickets. But right before the show Montezuma found me. I thought he was supposed to stay in Mexico! I had been drinking the water which internet sites said was safe. Well I don't believe them now!!
I went to meetings without eating on Thursday and stayed till after 2. Lunch smelled good but caused more churning so I went back to my room (1 1/2 blocks away). After sleeping 3 hours I felt better. The leader of our group brought me Sprite and crackers and medicines. The druggist also gave him the phone number for the ambulance. But I had seen ambulances on their runs. They stopped at all the red lights!
I tried to reach the mission home to see if I could get a blessing but the church has all automated phone systems and I never picked the right option. I finally got a person and said "no habla Ingles". I finally got a lady who could understand me and she gave me the mission office number - but it was closed!
Friday morning I felt well enough to eat so we decided to make out 600 mile flight to Igauzu Falls. It is out in the jungle on the Brazil/Argentina/Paraguay border and covers a large space dropping lots of water. We took a tour through the jungle down to the river and boarded boats for the falls. WE were told we would get wet and I assumed it would be from the heavy mist. They gave us bags for our valuables but I forgot about my wallet and my passport. They actually took us into the falls where the water was pounding on our heads. I wasn't too impressed with that. My room mate was disgusted and only wanted to go to the room and shower. I should have told him to go on and I would take more trails but I didn't.
I was feeling so good that I ate dinner and had good tasting french fries and ate too many. When my stomach is out of balance fatty foods kick me over the edge. So I was miserable all night in our $450 per night room. I couldn't even eat anything at the fantastic breakfast buffet! What waste.
So back at the airport we are waiting for our flight and I almost pass out due to dehydration. Water at the hotel was $4.50 for a 350 ml bottle. The flight back to BA was good because I had a seat mate that is a charter jet pilot out of LA. When we got to BA we found a bus going immediately to the international airport. When I walked into the terminal I immediately saw a senior missionary with his badge. So I asked him if he was up to giving a blessing. He said he was without oil but I wasn't. We found an unoccupied gate and I got the blessing I had needed since Wednesday.
Flying business or 1st class you are entitled to use the Admiral's club. I went in and they had food out - and a big steaming pot of chicken broth! A blessing and a bowl of chicken broth - it doesn't get any better than that - unless Nurse Nancy had been there of course!!
After take off I watched an episode of Monk on my 80 - 90 selection TV with my Bose head set - then made my seat into a bed and woke up over Houston
That's about the size of my trip. I shall try to post some pictures.
Gary