Well, for those who have written to ask why I haven’t been posting to the blog, as I haven’t done anything since the couch was out on the street, a lot has been going on. This will not be a full update, but just to let you know why I haven’t been posting.

Taken by Cecilia from the balcony

These bottles of champagne dressed for the occasion!

Anyway, the couch is now in situ and I love it! A couple of weeks after I moved in, I had a few of my best women friends over for a house warming — champagne and picadas. (Picadas are cold cuts, cheese and other nibblies that go down well with champagne — as what doesn’t?) We had a fun night. Cecilia stepped out onto the balcony and took this photo, which shows the girls as well as the living/dining room with the open kitchen in the background. Cecilia brought the lovely red roses. I think I’ll be having lots of parties here!

Internet

I moved in mid-March, but was told by the company I couldn’t get internet installed until Monday, April 1. Cecilia called them then and they said it would be installed on Thursday. When she called Wednesday night to confirm, they said no, it would be Monday between 8 am and 2 pm. So I figured a few more days using the cafe internet would be ok.

Monday morning, I asked Cecilia to call them to confirm — they had absolutely no record of me, my installation or anything else. She argued with them on the phone and got nowhere, so she got on two buses and went to one of the company’s agencies in the next town to hers. After she made a big noise, they finally agreed. She called me from there and told me to stay home as they were coming. Within an hour, the guy was here and installed it in ten minutes! It was painful, but I’m now online and the world looks sunnier!

My tango teacher, Alejandro — who is Argentine — told me his theory. Everybody makes everything so difficult and puts you through so many hoops that when things are finally done you feel so happy you think you’ve been given a gift — welcome to Argentina!! Never mind, I love it and I can put up with all the stuff — it’s fodder for the blog!

Punta del Este

Punta del Este is a very posh, upscale vacation resort in Uruguay, just across the Rio de la Plata from Buenos Aires. Venetia met a woman who has an American friend who has a house here and two dogs. She was looking for someone to house-sit and look after the dogs for a week, and we jumped at the chance.

The season is over now, so everything is very quiet (except the dogs!) and many places are closed now as the summer people have gone. But it’s still fun being here. I’ve been put in touch with a woman who is going to take me to a milonga next Tuesday, the night before we leave, so I’m looking forward to that.

I have a business Skype call in about ten minutes, and Venetia has gone ahead into Punta itself. After my call I will put the dogs in the living room and join her there. We are going on a walking tour of Punta, which will also give us ideas for things we might want to do the rest of our time here. I’ll post some photos and sketches soon.

La Barra

Yesterday we went to a place called La Barra, half an hour from here by bus. There is a beach where the Atlantic meets the Rio de la Plata, and it’s quite fascinating as you can almost see the dividing line. I couldn’t take photos as my iPhone is acting up and keeps running out of juice, but Venetia took some. I’ll ask her for copies and post here tomorrow.

I must go now to get ready for my client call. Thanks for continuing to be interested in my doings here, and I’ll get back to regular posting soon.

Ciao!