Just short of a month since my last post and only because the last 3-4 weeks have been anything but dull. Aside from the fact that I have been sick for almost as long, first with a viral infection to the throat which later morphed into laryngitis, things have been grand. What’s been especially fun was the arrival of some work colleagues, Alison and Marle about 3 weeks ago. This paved the way for monumental wine drinking and eating out, coated with splatterings of sight seeing trips and loads of laughs.

One thing worth mentioning is the Tango show we saw, something which has been on my list since I got here. This was performed at Cafe Tortoni, Buenos Aires’ oldest cafe which I think I’ve written about before. A bit commercial, but an experience all the same. Last Sunday we visited San Telmo. Not my favourite place in BA. Alison, Marle and I were really enjoying sitting outside on the cobbled street, watching all the people go by and savouring a wonderful cheese and meat platter accompanied by some nice refreshing Quilmes beer. The weather was beautiful too and it seemed like the perfect way for Marle to end her 2 week stay in BA. She had only a few more hours to go before the taxi would whiz her off to the airport. This all went horribly wrong, when it came time to pay and she looked down and her handbag was gone. This contained a fair amount of cash, passport, ID, credit cards etc. A terrible few hours ensued. We spent ages at the local police station waiting for a case number and were told it was the 10th case that day. Worst for Marle was the realisation that there would be no way she’d be able to fly that night and would have to wait for 3 days until the next available flight. The next morning I went with her to the South African Consulate to apply for an emergency passport. 24 hours later I received a call on my cellphone from some random dog-walker. It turns out this guy had discovered her passport, ID, drivers license, credit cards and luckily my name and number on a piece of paper. Unfortunately this was all that was to be found. A terrible way to end what had been such a good 2 weeks, but a lesson all the same. And now I’ve stopped carrying my passport around like it’s Spanish-English dictionary.

I think all the activity over the last few weeks and many a late night, coupled with all the indulging is what led me to eventually have to go see an ENT specialist at a clinic on Saturday. I dragged Alison along because she can speak Spanish. This turned into quite an amusing trip all in all. As I sat on a chair against a wall with a light bulb behind my head, the Doctor came toward me with a mirror on his forehead which looked like a CD and I had to concentrate really hard not to laugh. After poking around at the back of my throat for a bit, he dug in his toolbox and pulled out this weird looking tool which had tweezers the size of my baby finger. As he came closer I opened my mouth again. He indicated I was making available the wrong orifice and he went for my nose instead. Afterward Alison and I were laughing so much, because who knows what I thought he was planning on doing with that instrument down my throat. I think it would have been sinister even for a tonsillectomy. The Doctor was even smiling about it. As we left, we encountered the young male ‘receptionist’ who had very formally met us at the front desk. He’d had no time for chit-chat then, but now, outside the front door, and away from the confines of his professionalism, his stiff business-like demeanor disappeared altogether, and he asked us straight out if we wanted to meet up that evening! Casanova’s are rife here. Even when you least expect it.