Argentina

Robbie Williams (look-a-like) on horse, originally uploaded by CharlesFred.

I am having a break from the Africa photos, so having a look back at the photos I took in Argentina in August 2004, which was summer here and winter there. I had a lovely time in that country and had thought about going back there for a couple of months to learn the language and maybe invest my redundancy money in a lovely apartment in San Telmo in Buenos Aires. As it happened, I came back and was offered a job, which kept me based in Amsterdam until Fred and I were ready to make our trip to the Middle East and Africa. In the meantime, the prices of flats in BA have gone up a lot..... and ceratinly a lot more than the 2% I have been earning on the money at the bank!

Anyway, here is a scene from Mataderos, a working class area in the western part of Buenos Aires, the site of a big cattle market where on winter Sundays the gauchos meet to partake in a contest which has them galloping on a horse with a silver pipe, with which they try to capture a silver ring haning on a string about 2.5 meters high. A fascinating sight.