Buenos Aires

We arrived in Buenos Aires on a (heavily) rainy Saturday morning. We weren’t yet able to check into our apartment, so we took an taxi to a cafe that was nearby. There was fairly heavy traffic, however, and we didn’t want to pay the taxi to be stuck in said traffic, so we got out early and walked the last few hundred meters. This, of course, meant that we got pretty soaking wet. We spent the rest of the morning working in the cafe until the time when we were told we would at least be able to go and drop our bags off in the apartment. Thankfully, when we got there, the woman in charge of the check-in said that the cleaning and everything was done so we could actually take some time to settle in. This was good for me, as I was trying to organize an asado (aka a barbecue) to get as many of my friends as possible together. Originally it was going to be that day, but with the rain we all decided that it was best to keep it until Sunday. This ended up being best for Jo and I, as we were fairly tired coming off of another night bus.

I organized the barbecue in the WhatsApp chat with the Midnight Runners Buenos Aires captains. The first hurdle was where to host it. Jo and I couldn’t host at ours because it was against the rules of the short-term rental. One of the captains, my friend Naina who had immigrated to Argentina from Russia four years prior, gave me the number of some named Lucas who runs with the team. Lucas, as it turns out, is living with his identical twin brother Lee. They are originally from the United States and now live six months of the year in Alaska and the other six months in Buenos Aires. Both of them run with Midnight Runners in Buenos Aires and have become a fairly integral part of the community. They also love to host barbecues. Another bonus was that their apartment was right around the corner from ours, so we didn’t even have to go that far. We organized the barbecue for the following afternoon at their place and I told everyone to bring something to eat and drink. Jo and I contributed an Argentine asado classic: choripan. It is essentially their version of sausage on a bun.

One sad part about visiting Buenos Aires is that, since I left, two of my closest friends from there have moved away. My friend Sarahi has since moved to Toronto, and my other friend Dario has moved to Valencia, in Spain. Dario actually visited Jo and I twice in Paris. Still, I have plenty of friends who do still live there, so I was excited to see them all again.

The next day turned out to be the perfect day for a barbecue. Jo and I started off the morning going for a run through my favourite parks in the city. We passed through the Eco park, stopping to see the different animals along the way, then through Parque Rosedal and onto Los Bosques de Palermo. This route is one that I used to do almost daily when I lived in the city. It was one of those days that was so beautiful, it made you want to keep running forever. We could not, of course, because we had a barbecue to get to. Jo and I, technically being co-hosts with Lucas and Lee, made sure to arrive ahead of the rest. Upon meeting the twins for the first time, it is no question that they are identical twins - they look exactly the same. I always feel pressure as a twin, myself, that I should have some kind of higher capability to tell twins apart. I promise you, I do not, and these two are some of the most similar looking twins I have ever met. The two reminded me a bit of Britt and I, as they share a lot, have a lot in common, and do most things together. It made me miss my sister a little extra, that’s for sure. 

The rest of the people began arriving, and it was so wonderful to reconnect with old friends, as well as make some new ones. Despite it having been almost 3 years since I’d last been there, it didn’t feel like any time had passed at all. Jo and I were definitely looking forward to running with them all again on Tuesday.

The next day we kept things fairly chill, heading to the gym in the morning, working in the afternoon, and in the afternoon we went to the French consulate and the theatre district of Buenos Aires. The government in France was going through a period of instability, and Jo wanted to go file a procuration form that would allow his sister to be able to vote on his behalf, if this instability came down to snap elections. Buenos Aires is a beautiful city, because the architecht who designed it loved Paris and therefore mimicked the Parisian style. The French consulate is one of the most beautiful buildings in the zone - it really makes you feel like you’re back in Paris. From there, we went over to the theatre district, where one of the city’s oldest and most celebrated pizzerias is. I went there once before when I first moved to Buenos Aires and knew I had to take Jo. The restaurant has a counter in the entrance where you can simply buy a slice and you eat at standing tables, but when you go behind you can actually sit down and order whole pizzas and other things. It is a very classic Argentine/Italian style design. Family photos, as well as photos of the owners with all the various celebrities and important people had dined there adorned the walls. It’s a big place with ornate farmes and other decor. It is bustling and somewhat loud and is always buzzing with energy. The only other time I had been there, the restaurant was completely full so we went elbow-to-elbow with people at the counter. Being a Monday afternoon, however, it wasn’t too full, so Jo and I were able to get a table and actually sit down. I am not sure from exactly which region of Italy the wave of post-world war II immigration came from, but they took the inspiration of the style of pizza from their region and created what is now known as Argentine-style pizza. The crust is fluffy but not too thick, and the toppings tend to go nearly all the way to the edges, so that there is almost no topping-free crust at all. We ordered a fugzza, which is a classic style in Argentina that has plenty of onions, anchovies, and a lot of cheese. It’s not so large, but heavy enough that we didn’t need anything else after that. The restaurant is called Pizzeria Guerrin - if you’re ever in Buenos Aires, don’t skip it!

After the pizzeria, we made a quick stop at a book store nearby. We weren’t necessarily looking to buy a book, but rather, we just wanted to see the store. This book store is known for being one of the most beautiful book stores you can visit. It is inside an old converted theatre, but where there used to be seats, there are now book shelves. It lived up to the hype, it was beautiful. I could’ve spent an few hours in there. Unfortunately, I needed to get to a wifi zone for a meeting, otherwise I would’ve stayed much longer. 

Our final stop for the day was a costume store. The run on Tuesday would be Midnight Runners Buenos Aires’ Halloween run, and we needed something to wear. We didn’t want to spend too much money, so we just picked up a set that came with red horns, a red bowtie, and a red tail to make a little devil costume. From there, we just wore black clothing and did some spooky makeup and all was good. 

The next day, the day of the run, there was something that I absolutely had to do first: Get a haircut. It had been over a year since my last one and my hair desperately needed it. My hesitation was because at home, I always go to my friend Gabo, who is one of the top stylists in the region. Going to someone else always felt like cheating, plus I was never sure how the cut would turn out. The situation was dire, however, so off I went. When I used to live in Buenos Aires, I always went to a woman for waxing who has developed a technique so that it never hurts. Her salon also does hair, so I took a leap of faith and booked with them. While it may not have been up to the same quality that I would get with Gabo (I am biased), it was still pretty good. What’s more, despite it having been three (or four?) years since I had been there, the woman remembered me as soon as I walked in the door. They took very good care of me, so that was a nice little bit of pampering for the day.

In the evening, we put on our costumes and headed off to the run. It was great to see some of my old friends again, as well as get to know the new captains that had joined the team since I had last left. We ran one of my favourite routes and Jo and I led a couple of exercise stops to introduce some new exercises to the community. The only thing that shocked me in a less positive way was how slow they were running. Midnight Runners is supposed to be accessible to everyone, meaning that in the front people are running pretty fast, and then by the time you get to the back of the group people are running more moderately-paced to slower-paced. The pace that the group at the front was running was the pace of the mid-to-back of the group for all the other MR communities around the world. Thankfully, after the run, the team asked me if I had any feedback for them. I immediately told them that they need to be running faster at the front. Running so slow at the front automatically makes the run not for everyone - faster runners won’t come because it won’t be so much fun or a good workout for them. The next time we ran with them a week later, they had thankfully picked up the pace. 

The next day, we did a big tourist day. We first started off by going to the colourful district of La Boca. This is an old port neighborhood that has been painted all different colours. The tourist area is called El Caminito, with plenty of beautiful old buildings, wax figures of famous Argentine people like Maradona and Lionel Messi, and is one of the best places in the city to get chori pan - aka Argentine sausage on a bun. La Boca is a fun place to visit during the day, however, you have to be mindful of your things in this neighborhood and it is certainly not a place you want to be at nighttime.

After La Boca, we headed over to the San Telmo district of the city where they have the famous San Telmo Market. Here you can find lots of fantastic food, and it is a great place to have a classic Argentine asado (barbecue). Being there on a Wednesday was helpful, because on the weekends it can be very busy and almost impossible to find a spot to sit. We had a fantastic steak and a glass of wine. After that, we needed to go walk off a morning of heavier meals, so we headed over to the Puerto Madero district, where you can walk along the boardwalks and over the iconic Puente de la Mujer (Bridge of the Woman). From there we ended up walking all the way back to our apartment, where we had to prepare for our short weekend trip over to Uruguay.