Days 15-17: Back to Buenos Aires

Now I got to take the ferry back to Buenos Aires, this time at night:

I was accompanied by the lovely Rocio, Naty, & Gaby, we had mate (of course), and I tried my first alfajores. They said that you're supposed to have a sweet snack before dinner, so of course I was happy to oblige, the alfajor was amazing, it is a layer of dulce de leche sandwiched by two cookies, and then the whole thing covered in chocolate. Delicious! Havanna is supposed to be the best brand.

The hand signal they are doing there is Argentinian for "copado," which means "cool."

Buenos Aires from the ferry at night:

There was a ridiculous musical act on the ship of one guy singing to pre-recorded background music. The passengers politely clapped and some children danced a little:

Next I would spend a couple days waiting to take the plane to Iguazu. I pretty much took it easy and took so time to do laundry etc.
On my first night back I was in San Telmo and went to a huge bar which was a lot of fun. It had just opened, and every night they highlighted the music of a 90's artist and played their music and videos all night. This night's highlights were Pearl Jam and Stone Temple Pilots, and it was fun to see all their old videos and music again, and also to see the Portenos rocking out to 90's music.
I also took some long walks and saw the Buenos Aires Museum of Fine Arts and the Buenos Aires Museum of Decorative arts:

Buenos Aires Botanical Garden:

Next day, off to Iguazu!

Happily trapped in Punta del Diablo

From Montevideo I headed to Punta del Diablo, a fishing city with a very small, low key beachside center area (not pictured.) I stayed in Hostel de la Viuda, a couple of blocks (read: dirt roads) from the center, with the plan of taking it easy for a few days. A very nice place to stay, although I don't think the staff smiled once; they brought the good vibe down a little. I did relax a little, but what ended up happening was far more fun. The place was filled with vacationing Argentinians, Chileans, Brazilians, and Spanish-speaking Germans. We talked, cooked, partied, and just had a great time. When cooking, it was interesting to see the different regionalisms and cooking styles they had. One time we made an anchovy sauce pasta which was quite good, and different from food I am used to. I played chess against a guy who five years ago was ranked #14 in all of Chile, of course I was easily defeated. There was one night in particular when everyone was in a good mood and went down to the beach together, there was little bit of phosphorescence, these little microscopic creatures in the sand that glow neon green when you touch them. We had with us candles in 2-liter soda bottle lanterns, and carried on for hours. They all wanted to play a drinking game, and had a hard time coming up with one, so I suggested one which was a big hit. The rest of the stay there people kept on talking about the game and how much fun it was. I had a poignant moment of diplomacy when I was told by Argentinians that when their friends are saying bad things about Americans they would use me as an example of one they met who was genuinely a good person and that Americans can be good people too (I'm kind of used to hearing this kind of talk, but this time they were especially enthusiastic about it.) This next picture is me in front of the hostel with a Chile-Argentino group who I would visit Piriapolis with:

These are some pictures of the hostel and area:

That structure to the left there houses a pool table:

This happy fellow joined me for a walk to the beach. Instead of being an annoyance like most stray dogs, I  was actually glad to have this one around.

Unfortunately, there was very little bus service to and from Punta del Diablo. Buses would pass through at 5am, 4:30pm, or 6pm, not very convenient times for me to make a trip. I prefer to travel around the noon time. I kept on making plans to leave, and then kept on getting sidetracked for various reasons and ended up staying. One more night.. One more night.. I was glad to have been there though. Next I would make a quick stop in Punta del Este and stay in Piriapolis for a night.