Picto Diary - 21 January 2023 - Buenos Aires Bonus Day

Above: Wall mural. Ciudad Evita, Argentina. 21 January 2023.

Socialists Juan and Evita Peron are still adulated in Argentina (kinda [sic] like Koba is in Russia). Two kinds of populism. The Peron/Biden model: Vote Socialism, tax the producers, redistribute the taxes to a surfeit of crony, unproductive government workers and the abundant poor. The Trump model: Restore individual liberty as US priority. Undo the creeping Peronist-like Socialism advancing rapidly in the US. Uphill climb for DJT and his followers as it appears that a majority of Americans prefer the Peron/Biden populist model.

I didn't expect to be in Buenos Aires (BA) today. I missed my AA connection to Dallas yesterday. My incoming Aerolineas Argentinas flight from Ushuaia was on time. I was in the first third of those receiving my baggage. I raced the three hundred yards from the domestic to the international terminal and I had no wait at the business class check in. I blame Ponant. I should have been put on an earlier flight or notified of the transfer impossibility. A really sharp, pretty (I can say that at seventy-seven), American Airlines ticket agent found an economy, middle seat on a later flight to Miami, but I just couldn't see ten hours flying squeezed in sardine style. The AA agent found a Miami business class connection for the next evening with onward direct service to Salt Lake City. I wasn't sure whether to book the proposed next day reservation (the only seat left) as I was uncertain about getting into an airport hotel. She voluntarily, sans me asking, handled that problem by calling the Airport Holiday Inn Express and securing a reservation for me. This AA ticket agent was totally on top of the situation. I was so impressed. The next day at the Holiday Inn Express in Evita, Argentina was actually a welcome wind down from the high activity Antarctic experience. I slept in late, caught up on some correspondence and took two one-hour long walks. There was a great Argentina steak house restaurant at the hotel, too. I raised the problem of the missed connection with my travel agent. She checked with Ponant. Ponant was unwilling to admit their error. Ponant claimed their job was to get me back to BA, and not ensure that a connection was made. I didn't want to make a big deal of it. My extra day in BA was a good experience.

Above: Playground. Barrio Democracia. Ciudad Evita, Argentina. 21 January 2023.

Barrio playground. Coupla (sic) reused oil barrels and basic, local workshop-crafted swing and slide. Do the kids of the capitalist US have more fun on the expensive, and supposedly safer space age equipment and protective rubber flooring seen in US municipal parks and playgrounds? Or are pampered US kids insulated a from the "hard knocks" (as exemplified, say, by the riskier Barrio Democracia playgrounds of Socialist Argentina) required to turn them into strong self-sufficient adults?

Above: Roy. 21 January 2023.

Glasses! Image by Mom.

Addendum:

Thanks, Steve, for all these fond memories and great companionship to the 7th continent! North Pole next on Ponant's Commandant Charcot?
Espresso,
Washington, D.C.

Hmm. not out of the question. Do some research?

Steve, Canada anti-Democratic? What has got into your brain?
Tom,
Aspen, CO

Canada social credit activism/tyranny freezing the bank accounts of truckers protesting hyper restrictive coronavirus rules. Doing nothing about CCP spy balloon that over flew Canada airspace. Like China, Canada governance antithetical to assuring liberty for its citizens. Xi and Trudeau. Birds of a feather.

Steve- How was the weather. What temperatures did you experience?
Montage,
Marina del Rey, CA

32 degrees to 40 degrees. Sunshine 15% of excursion time. Otherwise overcast, occasionally sleety. Not much different from March skiing weather in Park City.

Steve,
What country is between the French flag & Canada? Aren’t Russia & Norway part of the claimants to Antartica? Those are normal Park City ski time temps, n’est pas?
Isetta,
Chicago, IL

A. Dunno. Also, I don't recognize the flag in lower left corner of the patch. B. Yes, but my guess is Ponant put on the patch the flags of countries that represent the bulk of their potential supply of customers. C. 32 degrees to 40 degrees during the entire ten days. Sunshine 15% of excursion time. Otherwise overcast, occasionally sleety. Not much different from March skiing weather in Park City, as you point out. The first time I left the vessel I wore a couple of extra layers. It was too much. After a 300-foot vertical climb, I descended with the parka fully unzipped. For excursions after that, my only under layer was a t-shirt. For our trip, speaking for myself, the cold was not a factor. But then, people in Miami dress like Eskimos when temps are fifty degrees.

Steve,
I do not know whom is "Trinh" one of your respondents. We are traveling in Vietnam today. The next stops on this trip are Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Singapore. We will fly out of Vietnam in early March.
The Pope,
Naples, FL

Sony and Trinh are immigrants to US from Vietnam. They are successful farmers and businesspeople living in Orange County, CA. I have linked you both on an e-introduction.

Good morning … 08 January 2023 I, too, marched in the Rose Bowl Parade - on January 1, 1970, with the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse Marching Band. PENN State band was lined up next to us pre-parade, and boy were they good!!! One piece we played was “Stars and Stripes Forever” on the long parade route - terrific piccolo part!! We recently celebrated the 50-year band reunion of that parade. It was so much fun seeing everyone again!! I eagerly watched the Rose Bowl game this year and PENN State’s halftime show was great!!! “Malagueña” (concert band version!) and everyone had it memorized except for the Sousaphone player!!! Yes, I also get “teary-eyed” when watching a GREAT marching band!! Nothing like it! We also regularly performed halftime shows for NFL games - Packers, Vikings, and Bears. Delighted that everyone in your family is doing so well! I can’t help but think those early piano lessons helped!! Thanks again for buying them a piano!! Oh, and the pow-pow is so inviting! Happy New Year!
Music,
Racine, WI

Wow. Big 10 marching band. I knew there was something special about you! Envious. You had one of the best of college experiences.

You haven't lost touch with ALL your PHS friends! Don't despair for the future. The great children we have raised will fill our place in the world admirably when we are gone. Have a healthy and happy 2023.
Let it snow!
Academy Theater,
Salt Lake City, UT

Thanks for staying in touch, Provo High School (PHS) friend. I value our past experiences together at PHS. I wish I shared your optimism about the future. Still, you have to admit, it was good living at the apex. PS. 25% of today's kids are better than ever... better than we were. 25% is not enough to grow, let alone sustain, a civilization built on individual liberty.

Thank you so much, Steve! What an adventure. I loved your picto diary!
Apple,
Salt Lake City, UT

Hello Steve,
In case you can't identify the sender, I'm Ed Lane, Espresso's Argentine friend (and yours, I hope).
Bruno was kind enough to forward your incredible e-mails for us to enjoy.
I'm amazed at your narrations and pictures. They took us (I'm sharing them with my son Oliver, Bruno's godson) along with you two adventurers every step of the way.
The pictures brought back great memories of my own trip down south, though yours has been so much more comprehensive. If I'm not mistaken, we only went down the Weddell Sea, on the east coast of the Antarctic Peninsula, while yours was on both sides with landings all along. On the West coast we saw several countries' bases (Polish, Brazilian, Argentine, Chilean). Staff from the Polish Base came on board to lecture at one point. I gather you did not land at any base.
A small change to your data: the restaurant in BA where I enjoyed lunch with you and Bruno is called Happening (vs.Happiness). Not important, but I know you like to keep accurate data.
It was a privilege to have met you. If you're ever back this way make sure to look me up. Besides I owe you and Bruno a meal!
All the best. Have a great 2023.
Ed Lane,
Buenos Aires, Argentina

Ed, I enjoyed being with you, a new friend, in BA. I'm looking forward to some more entrana on the next trip. PS. We saw a manned Chilean research station (Gonzalez Videla Antarctic Base) on our zodiac cruise at Paradise Bay, but we didn't visit it.

After following you in Antarctica (following our return from Patagonia), It's nice to hear from you.

Teeth,
Basalt, CO