Perfect friend

I guess this is goodbye, old pal, you've been a perfect friend

I guess this is goodbye, old pal  

Saturday morning Nacho and I were up relatively early considering the late finish to the night before. Pablo picked us up and the three of us went for a great brunch at a little bistro called Oui Oui. The eggs were amazing and really set me up for the day, getting rid of the small headache that was starting to form. I was told I should also try the fresh lemonade. It too was amazing. Our post night out drinking hunger cured we set out for El Tigre, a beautiful place just to the north of BA. The place is on an island surrounded by a series of small rivers and streams. We headed for the centre and managed to park in a spot close to the main market. Tigre is a very popular weekend destination with lots of people leaving the city to take in the scenery of the area.

We walked through the market, a mix of craft stalls and fresh produce taking up most of the space. There was the odd furniture shop and one random store that seemed to sell nothing but second hand glass bottles in every shape and size that you could imagine. The walk along the river was really beautiful. As we passed by the Argentine Rowing Club I remarked what a lovely building it was. It was done in a mock Tudor style and reminded me a little of home. I tried to explain this to Pablo & Nacho but my Spanish wasn’t good enough. I gave up, saying “No sé cómo explicar “Tudors” en español” (“I don’t know how to explain “Tudors” in Spanish”). Pablo and Nacho chatted in Spanish for a while, before Pablo finally turned to me and said “Ah yes. Judas! Juda-a-a! Judas! Juda-a-a!” bursting into the Lady Gaga song. I laughed out loud. It was clear that I hadn’t quite conquered the language barrier just yet.

We continued our walk down along the river to the Tigre Art Museum and stopped for some mate, a local tea drink. I have to admit to not being a very good Englishman as I don’t really drink tea. This seems to surprise people I meet as I think they believe that everyone in England drinks at least five cups of tea a day. I tried the local tea anyway, which is made by steeping dried yerba mate leaves in hot water in a small bowl like cup with a metal straw. The mate cup is passed between the group of people drinking. It was all very social but not my cup of tea, so to speak.

After sitting in the sun for a while we headed back to where the car was parked. Pablo asked me what I thought of Tigre. I attempted a reply in Spanish saying “Soy muy lindo” in order to let him know that I thought it was a very pretty area. Unfortunately “Soy muy lindo” means “I am very pretty”. Pablo and Nacho both laughed and very kindly agreed that I was pretty. That became my stock response for the rest of my time in BA. It had been a really nice day out of the city and Nacho and I had a quiet night in with me cooking dinner. After dinner as Nacho was clearing up I remembered that there was still a spare chicken breast left in the oven. From out of nowhere I did a sentence in perfect Spanish that I didn’t realise I knew all the vocabulary for. Nacho seemed equally taken aback as I told him “Hay una pechuga en el horno”.

You've been a perfect friend

Having had a quiet night in Nacho and I were up early on Sunday so we took a bus over to Santa Fe for breakfast at Natural Deli. We sat having breakfast whilst reading the Sunday papers. Well, Nacho read the paper, I looked through one of the supplements that had a lot of photos in it and tried to read the comics. It was another clear and sunny day so after breakfast we headed over to the ecological reserve for a walk. The reserve was quiet, the occasional runner or cyclist passing us as we walked along in the morning sunshine. I had a great chat with Nacho about family, life, work and pechugas en el horno. Our walk lasted the whole morning and in to early afternoon. The reserve is a great place to get away from the city for a while. After such a long walk we were ready for some more food and had lunch at a lovely restaurant called Quimbobo, sat outside on the roof terrace. Lunch was followed by a bus ride home and a siesta.

It being Sunday night I was invited along to the regular Sunday night out with the gang. The venue tonight was El Federal, the place where I had first met Pablo, Nacho and Dario. It seemed fitting for my last night in Buenos Aires. Emanuel was also there and he was a little more sober than the last time I had seen him. The evening seemed to fly by and we were soon doing goodbyes. I was told that I had a place in Buenos Aires whenever if ever I should return. I told my new friends that they had a place to stay in London should they ever visit (provided it was after May 2012 as I would be away until then).

The following morning I packed my case once again. As I was getting ready to go meet Nacho for lunch I spotted something sticking out from under the insole of my shoe. I pulled it out. It was some Brazilian money. I had forgotten that I had put it there for emergency purposes while I was in Rio. I had been walking round with it in there for days. I knew that Nacho was headed to Rio later in the year so when we met up for lunch I gave it to him and told him to have a few drinks on me. Evening soon arrived and I said goodbye to Nacho and headed over to the airport. Pablo was working at the airport so I also got to say goodbye to him before heading for my overnight flight up to Mexico.

“I guess this is goodbye, old pal, you've been a perfect friend.” 
Lyrics from I guess this is goodbye from the musical Into the Woods