Seaside colonial style beauty - Paraty
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Hmmm that headline sounds a bit like a travel brochure, but this place is truly beautiful.
We arrived quite late at night (about 10pm) and checked into our new accommodation - a place called the Blue Lagoon (Lagoa Azul) - just on the outskirts of the main town. It is a Spanish/Portuguese style villa with an open courtyard in the middle with a guitar shaped pool which is indeed blue and very inviting... especially after 5 hours on the minibus. The rooms were very spacious and comfortable and certainly the best presented so far with lots of wooden furniture and fixtures, and a nice big bed.
Our first full day in Paraty was spent exploring the old quarter of town with cobble stone streets (more like boulders) and wonderfully painted buildings... like a cleaner, less touristy version of La Boca in BsAs. I have never taken so many photos of doors, window and bicycles. They must have some control on street signage as well, as even the local pizzerias and bars have very modest signs next to their doors. Even at 10am the streets were getting very hot and I think it would have reached at least 40C in the town itself.
We weren´t too worried about the heat though, because after exploring some of the historic sights we were going to go on a boat trip out to some islands and beaches around Paraty and the temperature would be a lot cooler. We boarded the schooner which was called the Estrela da Manhã IV (Star of the morning) and we found the upper deck covered with cushions and quickly took our place up there in comfort! =) Our MC for the tour Fabio or just `Fab´ was great and played guitar for us in a kind of lazy beachside bossanova style... now this is how to holiday in style. The schooner hadn´t even left the pier and we were happy just to laze about.
For some reason the pier was a bit of a mess with all of the boats, launches, tour schooners tangled up in the night (on hearing this later, Julio laughed and says this always happens) so it took us a while to get underway. Once away the temperature did drop by at least 5C with the water and a nice cool breeze. Fab did a door prize draw of our boarding passes and our number came up as well as Roger´s - another traveller from our group. Our prize was a free Capeirinha and our new friends Rebecca, Kat, Emma, Jacky and Deb were a little bit jealous.
The Caipirinha is the Brazilian national drink, and contains cachaça (40proof sugar cane liquor) with limes and sugar and sometimes vodka.
We stopped at a secluded beach and most people jumped into the water instantly. I jumped on board the dinghy to get to the beach with my camera equipment all wrapped up in a dry-sack. Kellie got to hold a spiky sea urchin while I was busy chasing sea crabs that had burrows all along the beach. When it was time to go, the boat blew its horn four times and people swam back and got back on board.... hang on.... where is that dinghy??? I was standing on the beach by myself and hoping not to get left behind (although I could think of much worse places to be stranded). Luckily others stumbled back along from the far side of the beach too and we managed to get back on board without further incident.
We continued the cruise and on the next stop our helpful deck hands were throwing bread into the water to attract a variety of fish and Fab decided to go swimming as well. He pulled the biggest star fish up off the sea floor and gave it to Kellie who was in the water again to hold. It was so heavy that it´s arms were bent over.
A storm was beginning to build up and you could see a bit of anxiety on the captain´s face, so the cruise was postponed until we could sit out the rough water in another beautiful secluded bay. That was pretty much it for the cruise.
There are a lot of islands in the area around Paraty which have restaurants built upon them. You can catch a boat out to one eat, drink, be merry and then sail back into town. I wish we had more time to stay here.
This has definitely been one of our favourite days so far, and has really let us relax and wind down. Tango....? What tango? =)
Posted byAndrew at 12:05 am 1 comments
Labels: travel
Welcome to São Paulo...
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
I cannot believe how lucky we have been with the weather here though. It rained quite a bit in Buenos Aires which sucked a little but everytime we have done outdoor activities with our tour group we have ended up having really nice weather. Like the day we went to the Argentine side of Iguazu Falls, it was a beautifully sunny day and now it´s raining cats and dogs again. A few people from our group went to the bird park in Foz do Iguaçu and got to touch a toucan which sounded like lots of fun... we are just suffering a little from a bit of burnout at the moment and really benefited from the sleep in.
The morning we left the Brazilian town of Foz do Iguaçu was gloomy and grey. We had a bit of rain and thunder to contend with. No problems with the flight except for a little turbulence just before we landed in São Paulo.
São Paulo is HUGE.... the population (about 23 million and growing) is bigger than the entire population of Australia and makes Adelaide seem like a tiny country town. We were just passing through which I think everyone was happy to do, so it was all very safe for us.
After a hold up with our luggage at the airport (all of the luggage came out first except for one of my bags which came out almost dead-last) we were off for our trip to Paraty in two buses. The highways are crowded and chaotic and drivers here don´t seem to have the same organic commonsense as the chaotic drivers in Buenos Aires or Phuket in Thailand. It may explain some of the thousands road deaths a year in Brazil. We even had a narrow miss with a smaller car when our driver was changing lanes... luckily we were only travelling at around 15km/h at the time.
Julio was trying to find us some place to eat lunch and we pulled over into almost every dodgy little truck stop we passed. It was crazy, and not one of us looked forward to eating at all. We did get to stop at a pretty good place though. It was still a truck stop / diner at the side of the road, but it was a pretty good churrascaria style buffet (more buffets......aaargh!!!) with decent meats and the salads were pretty cool too. We got to try our first manioc flour dish which was dry and pretty tasteless (we put this down to the fact that it was a truck stop, but we were proven wrong as each time we have this dish it is the same).... maybe a bit harsh, but I don´t think I would order this on purpose.
At least we can say that we ate at one of the most dangerous cities in the world and survived to tell the tale! =)
On the way again and it is starting to get dark. The drive down to the coastal town of Paraty is very windy and a bit scary in the dark. Especially as drivers here have the tendency to turn off their headlights completely when a car in front is near and use the hazard lights instead to show their presence on corners etc.
I had my iPod on my ears for pretty much the entire trip just to chill out a bit.
Posted byAndrew at 1:15 am 0 comments
"Hey guys!"
A little more on our GAP tour guide Julio. Our first meeting in BsAs was interesting and involved a note beginning with "Hey Guys!" which we became used to for the rest of the trip... it was a bit of a catchcry.
He is from a village in Peru and has lived in Lima, Peru and Rio de Janeiro. He has proven to be a great guide and very knowledgeable and intelligent. Definitely one of the better English speakers we have met here. We were at a pub the other night and he was telling us that he completed his studies with a masters with the topic of Shamanism... I wonder if they offer that back at home. Very accommodating too and we were sorry to have to say goodbye a couple of days ago.
Posted byAndrew at 1:09 am 0 comments
It´s showtime! Rafain Churrascaria Show
After braving a walk to the local supermarket in Foz do Iguaçu to pick up some water, we jumped on the bus with our fearless tour guide Julio and our informative local operator Antonio to go to see a show and get some buffet dinner (just in case we haven´t been putting on enough weight already!). It was the Rafain Churrascaria Show and was actually pretty good value, although the amount of corn was very high. It was a bit cheesy too but that seems to be the norm over here =) hehe.
The cultural show featured dancing from all over South America and started with Paraguay (did I mention that we got to see Paraguay a couple of days earlier while our bus was stopped on a bridge half way in Argentina and half way in Brazil?) and moved on to Mexico, Ecuador, Peru, Chile and others. When the tango came on I was very aware of pretty much everyone looking at Kellie and I at one point or another to see our reactions. The tango was ok, but seemed like a rehearsed performance by people who hadn´t necessarily learned the dance (the dancers performed in most of the different dances) and seemed a little forceful at times. The highlights of the night were the Capoeira, and Samba but there was one with a woman dancing with Bolas or Boleadoras which was amazing... very percussive and my favourite.
The food was great and there was a grill with lots of different meats and some strange and surprising mixtures at the salad bar.
Posted byAndrew at 12:49 am 0 comments
Iguazu Falls (Day 2)
The hotel we are staying in at Iguazu is quite nice and the rooms are very large which is a relief (especially since Kellie bought another small cabin suitcase in BsAs and we really need the room now). Started again with breakfast and jumped onto the bus to cross the border back into Argentina. It was a public holiday in Argentina so the traffic was incredible. Our GAP leader Julio, had some ringing around and internet bookings to organise so we were entrusted to our local guide, Antonio, for the day.
On arrival at the border, we noted a little anxiously all of the cars, motorbikes as well as buses and coaches.... lots of buses and coaches. Antonio grabbed all of our passports to take to the customs booth and we waited...and waited...and waited. A couple of nervous jokes about how much an Australian passport fetches on the blackmarket and he jumped back in the bus -- after about a 2 hour wait... Sheesh. The temperature is also climbing and only after we got back to the hotel did we find out it got to 40C which was lots of fun along with the humidity. =)
The Argentine side of Iguazu is amazing and you are able to get really close to one of the falls called the Devil´s Throat (Garganta del Diablo) - a U-shaped, loud, grumbling, roaring, rolling area of the falls. Very impressive and humbling. To get there we had to take a light-gauge electric passenger tram which helped me attain an understanding of how sardines may feel. After that there is a 15 minute walk through the river which is like the mangrove areas back home. There are butterflies everywhere. They alight on your hats, bags, backs, hands, cameras... pretty much anything. After a while you kinda ignore them and they just don´t have the same effect.... then you see one with a completely different colour or pattern and it´s all very cool again. Speaking of plague proportions... there are so many people here you really hope that the platform holds. Almost impossible to get a photo without other people in it too.
We walked back and grabbed some lunch. There were two options a restaurant offering a buffet or a cafe with simple fare. Opting for the latter we were still impressed with our beef sandwiches which were awesome. Even the dodgy cafe in the middle of a national park has some of the best tasting steak.
After satisfying our hunger, we went along the Upper Trail (Paseo Superior) which gave us a great view of both the Argentine and the Brazilian sides of the falls. The walk was only about an hour but by now we were both feeling the heat and humidity as well as getting sore feet. We´d already walked so far.
After a very short rest and a quick chat in Spanish with another refugee from the heat (well it was a *very* quick chat) we headed off for the Lower Trail (Paseo Inferior) which we thought would be a lot cooler. It was cooler but still humid so we suffered all the same. We continued but rationalised that we didn´t need to do the whole trail, just enough to get to one of the falls where you get the spray misting over the viewing area. It would be lovely. Only problem was that we had to content with the crowds of ignorant sufferable people going slow, getting in the way, ignoring the signs and feeding the animals and generally being a nuisance. I couldn´t work in hospitality... I´d end up stabbing someone with a dinner plate. Whoops getting a bit sidetracked. I amused a group of Argentines after they asked me to take their photo by jumping over the barrier separating the walkway into two halves so that I could have enough room between us for the photo to work. When we arrived at the falls we were after, I gave up. There were way too many people here. Took some photos and resigned to walking back.
It was a bit of a relief to get back to the hotel. We stopped very quickly at the biggest souvenir store I have ever seen to go to the money exchange house which was a part of it. This place was about as big as a Woolworths store.
Posted byAndrew at 12:02 am 0 comments
Labels: travel
Iguazu Falls (Day 1)
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
We joined up with our GAP Adventures tour group last Saturday and have been pretty busy with activities with them. It started in the Downtown area of Buenos Aires at Gran Hotel Ailen. Accommodation was a bit hard to take after three weeks in our two beautiful apartments... cramped and smelly. The area wasn't very nice either as the business people desert the area over the weekends and only tourists and spruikers are left. We also saw a few dodgy characters so didnt hang around too long. Had a quick bite of coffee and media lunas and went back to our hotel to meet the tour leader.
The group is good with a good mix of backgrounds and ages. Had a very early start in the morning (we had to get up at 5.30am to leave by 6.30am). A few of them went out partying the night before we left so we were running a bit late for the airport the next morning. Of course Kellie and I were stuck at the back of the cue so the stewardesses told us off when it wasn't our fault. I understand ... they are just doing their jobs so was polite.
The flight wasn't bad only 3 hours, and the views coming into the airport in Argentina -- Puerto Iguazu -- were spectacular. We were picked up from the airport by our local guide Antonio and two minivans and promptly taken across the Brazillian border to our new hotel. Excellent accommodation and a huge difference to the night before. We went onto get some lunch in town and then onto the falls on the Brazilian side. On the way we stopped for people to go on a helicopter ride to the falls. Kellie and I chickened out but now wish that we had done it. Oh well - maybe next time.
The falls are truly a spectacle and are just amazing. There are butterflies everywhere!!! All shapes and sizes and colours. They also had some mischievous animals which I think are called coatis (or are similar to them at least). They were trying to look through people's bags and one even marked someone's leg as his territory -- funny. The day was very humid and wet and it was tiring just walking around up and down steps and inclines. We had a lot of fun and got to go to see Iguazu from the other side (some say that the Argentine side is the better side to see things from, plus you get to do the Devil's Throat)... more on that later.
We went out to a pizza place for dinner which was nice and easy. It was a rodizio so the waiters just kept bringing pizzas to our table and you got to choose what you wanted for only about $15 Brazilian reais. So sick of cheese now though. Our hotel has a good buffet breakfast and I've been eating a lot of fruit! =)
Posted byAndrew at 11:47 am 1 comments
We're still here
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Sorry we've been very flat out with a few things in the last few days like shopping, shoes, dancing, more tango classes and staying out of the rain. We're still here and I hope to post some more substantial articles tomorrow if possible.
We move out of our apartment tomorrow into the hotel before we start our tour of Iguazu, Paraty and then onto Rio de Janeiro. Should be good, but we have a bit of creative packing to do (how do you protect 11 pairs of shoes from getting squashed in your respective pieces of luggage?). I've just bought the local paper to stuff into them which should stop them getting squashed.
The rain has been phenomenal... there has been so much that a state of emergency has been declared up further north of Argentina in places like Santa Fe and Cordoba (not where we are heading) where it is flooding quite badly.
We finished off our fourth and last class with Fabrizio today and boy do I feel like we have a lot of work to do. He has made both of us think a lot more about how to make sure the basic movements are done just right. Only thing is that it will take a very long time to get them exactly so. They have been very enjoyable.
Went for a day trip out to Recoleta, San Telmo, Caminito in La Boca and Puerto Madero a new neighbourhood in BsAs on Wednesday. The day was grey and overcast but we were lucky to miss the rain. I should have a tonne of photos which I will post a link to eventually.
Posted byAndrew at 11:03 am 2 comments
It's raining, it's pouring....
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
It really bucketed down last night while we were eating dinner with Roger and Dru last night. The rain was so hard that it flooded the streets. After it calmed down enough (and the weather too) we left the restaurant (more here) to a bit of thunder and lightning and went for a coffee nearby. Not sure how it happened but Roger ended up carrying Kellie across the flooded streets getting his shoes and socks wet, while I jumped across safely and Dru took off her shoes and waded across. Funny stuff. We were all feeling pretty tired after our respective weeks so I managed to get through a cafe doble (mug of strong coffee) quite easily while everyone else had their drinks of choice. Roger was debating his third coffee when we decided to call it a night and get out of there. Roger obligingly carried Kellie across the road again (where was I? Laughing too much at the sight) and we said our goodbyes outside our apartment (which was very close). Roger and Dru will be leaving BsAs on Monday (don't forget that we are about 13.5 hours behind Adelaide time) so it was nice to see them off and celebrate Dru's birthday and my upcoming 30th birthday. Will definitely be doing something else on that night.
Posted byAndrew at 5:27 am 0 comments
Additional classes
Started some more classes now that we are staying in Palermo with Fabrizio Forti. He has a great teaching technique and certainly doesn't beat around the bush when explaining that he is teaching us things that will take a year or more to perfect. He also seems to have this wonderful source of boundless energy. When demonstrating how a woman dances in a turn without feeling a connection from the man he just went flying around the room (I simply cannot describe how it looked ... it was just really funny and very well done by Fabrizio to keep the tone of the class very low-key).
We both feel like it's back to beginners' classes. =) He watched us dance once and said we needed to cover the urgent issues and the important issues in our dancing. Obviously starting with the urgent. It was more about controlling our bodies, posture and movement. Very important stuff and hard to concentrate on everything at once. These classes are very enjoyable and are really challenging us to think about the way we lead and follow movements. He will be in New Zealand and also visiting Australia soon. If we get the chance we'll definitely be going back and getting some more classes.
Kellie also did a women's technique workshop with Imogen taught by an instructor by the name of Graciella Gonzalez which sounds like it covered a lot of ground. It was about 4 hours long so Kellie came home looking a bit shattered but it sounded worthwhile.
Posted byAndrew at 5:09 am 0 comments
San Telmo markets
Caught a taxi out to San Telmo to the Ferio de San Telmo, which is the regular Sunday market at Plaza Dorrego. The cobblestone streets here are really a sight and the stalls line both sides of the streets along the cross streets leading from the plaza. Tango is the theme everywhere here and many bars and galleries offer tango shows. The crowds really bustle about as they search for the perfect antique or souvenir to buy. There are street performances by bands (there were two tango orchestras there on Sunday) and both traditional and tango dancers. They are so colourful and a lot of the paintings were just beautiful... Of course there was also a lot of garbage for sale or 'bric-a-crap' as it shall now be called. The locally made produce looked really good and the leather goods and knives on display weren't too bad either.
Lots-of-tourists-with-cameras-everywhere! There was a guy with a beautiful new digital SLR camera who was taking pictures of tango performers in the outdoor arena of the plaza. He was holding it aloft while shooting over people's heads and I had to laugh as every shot I saw him take was a beautiful picture of the backs of people's heads.
We went to a bar called Pappa Deus for a drink and some tapas and were entertained by a two-piece group playing a mixture of music (tango and contemporary). They weren't too bad and it was a great day.
Posted byAndrew at 5:00 am
Milongas here
Haven't been to as many milongas as expected and so far have only been to La Viruta/La Estrella at the Armenian Club, Niño Bien on Humerto Primo, Porteño y Bailarin on Riobamba, and Salon Canning with a visit to a practica With Kellie and I feeling a bit run down after CITA it was nice to have a couple of nights to relax and sleep in a bit the next day. I haven't been overly impressed by the dancing at these events and can only attribute it to too many visitors who don't have the skills to dance in small spaces... I also think a lot of the locals are being more protective of 'their' venues and trying to muscle-out the newcomers a bit. The floors have all been very packed and also have been hard to find a table. My favourite night so far has been dancing at Porteño y Bailarin which is a strange 'L' shaped club with two dance floors (playing the same music though). We got to see El Flaco Dany perform again -- we had already seen him perform one tango and two milongas at La Estrella Sat 17th to do two encores -- to live music which consisted of two acoustic guitars and a great singer doing their thing. The floor was small and he packed a lot into that space.
Salon Canning on Friday night was a bit funny as there was a lot of jostling on the dance floor. I was keeping my movements as small and as basic as possible but still had to lead a quick turn everynow and then so that Kellie didn't get flattened by some big lummox on the floor. My back was very sore the next day. Oh yes.... El Flaco Dany was there that night too! He probably thinks we're stalking him - or maybe it is the other way around. Julio Balmaceda and Corina De La Rosa were also at the bar for a lot of the night too. The cortinas (music to signify the end of a group of songs or tanda) were old Beatles songs that had been redubbed in Spanish.
Posted byAndrew at 4:54 am 0 comments
More on Restaurants II
Last Thursday we went to a local (Palermo) restaurant on Av. Charcas called Restaurante Paté. The service was great and the fritas here (while not my priority for a good meal) were the best chips I have had yet in BsAs. The meals were really tasty too with my Bife de Chorizo and Kellie's Milanesa Napoletana both very hearty. The next night we tried a place across the road called Tabaré Parilla which has completely blown me away as far as the food is concerned. Kellie had the rack of lamb with mushroom sauce and I had a huge cut of lamb which was so succulent and tender. This is a must do, although be careful with how you order here as the service can be a bit lacking. Having said that we did get some complimentary glasses of chapagne to finish the night. Both places weren't as cheap as the others but with mains still in the $25-30peso range at the end of the meal you are still only paying a total of about AUD$25 each for awesome food and accompanying drinks. It was so good that we went back last night with friends Roger and Dru which was when the waiter stuffed up a couple of the orders. I still recommend this place. Try it.
Posted byAndrew at 4:38 am 0 comments
Travel notes & humour -- bits and pieces.
Here are some of the more peculiar and out of the ordinary things that have happened to us so far in Argentina...
- Stopping on the zebra crossing in the middle of Avenida Corrientes to take a photo of the Obelisk. I had to shoot and scoot as the intersection was for 5 different roads and drivers here don't pay much attention to the pedestrians here.
- Speaking of the roads and drivers, 9 de Julio as I posted about earlier is indeed a monster! It's a bit daunting crossing it in peak hour with taxi drivers, biker hoons and delivery drivers all revving their engines waiting to get the jump on the lights.
- Kellie and I have both come down with a cold which is unfortunate. It hasn't affected us too much but I slept for 14 hours the first night I became sick to help me recover (I guess going out the night before did me in too --- about 4am at La Viruta again).
- Visiting Recoleta cemetary with its avenues of mausoleum after mausoleum of old dignataries, doctors, politicians and celebrities. There were quite a few really spectacular structures that are higher than most people's houses. A few things though: there are cats everywhere here and they are very well looked after with water dishes placed out for them; an equally large population of mosquitoes so we were continually slapping each other's backs and waving arms everywhere; there are quite a few workers here doing restorations or generally cleaning the structures... one enterprising workman had turned one of the mausoleums into a storage shed for his ladders, buckets and cleaning tools; a rather disturbing site was the leaking mausoleum -- I am not kidding -- and the smell was horrible. Also managed to bump into Peter and Lisa who were just out for a stroll which seemed a bit peculiar in a city of over 12 million people.
- We've moved to our other accommodation in Palermo already (happened last weekend) and we had been searching for an internet cafe in the area. The closest we could find was about 2 blocks away... fair enough. A few days later, on servicing a chocolate craving Kellie discovered a Kiosk with an excellent suite of new computers with great internet connection hidden out the back. This place is right next door to where we are staying. Oh well. Live and learn.
- When we go out for a meal, Kellie has usually been going for water or soft drink while I've been working my way through the beer selection. Every time she orders a cola or lemonade (e.g. Coke or Sprite, Pepsi or 7up), she is always corrected by the waiter as they only stock the other brand. Without fail... happens almost every time.
- While out shoe shopping we ended up being held up a little at Tango Brujo by a busy store, but ended up trying on a lot of shoes. Ended up walking away with 3 pairs (1 for me, 2 for Kellie) of cool shoes and then walking the short distance to the next group of stores. I received a very warm reception at Flabella shoes by one of the owners/shoemakers who walked me through their selection and copied my attempts at Spanish which I'm not sure were affirmations of what I was saying, an attempt to hurry me up or just his wry sense of humour. Probably all of the above, but he spoke a bit of English anyway. Visited the store next door called Darcos Shoes where Kellie wanted to try on some clothes. I was stuck with all of the shopping which included our 3 pairs of shoes from Tango Brujo, with nice gold ¨Tango Brujo¨ lettering all over them and my much more conservative Fabio Shoes bag. The owner walked past me and asked if I danced and before I could answer he pointed to all of the bags and agreed that Yes, I could probably do a few moves. Anyway he continued studying the bags and noticed where they were from. He remarked with a casual ¨Eh, their shoes are okay... but mine are better! I know where my materials come from and make all of my shoes.¨ I guess he doesn't like them very much. Anyway... I don't think we bought anything there. Hehe.
Posted byAndrew at 4:10 am 0 comments
More on restaurants
Saturday, March 24, 2007
We have had some really nice dining experiences here, some of them more formal than others.
- Chiquilin on Montevideo and Sarmiento near where we were staying -- formal parilla restaurant... bit pricey compared with other experiences, but I think the bill was still only about $40pesos each for mains, sides and drinks.
- Pippo's on Montevideo and Sarmiento. Next door to Chiquillin... Cannot compare this parilla with Chiquillin... it wouldn't be fair, but it was still a nice experience. The food here was okay and the prices I think were definitely reasonable. I think we got away from this meal of pasta and Bife de Lomo for about AU$25.
- Campo dei Fiori on San Jose and Venezuela -- another more formal Argentine parilla place, with really really good pasta. Prices were similar to Chiquillin.
- Marini Gourmet -- buffet style with all Argentine and international food represented... very good and the parilla is awesome. BBQ Lamb leg was great. Total bill was about $29pesos for food, another $10 for drinks and $5 for the band.... yes we had to pay for the band that we didn´t know would be there. It was a fun night regardless.
Cafes have been okay too, but some are definitely not at the same level as the restaurants.
- Cervantes II -- the best and cheapest cafe. It was reliable and very close to where we were originally staying for CITA. Milanesa con Fritas (schnitzel with chips) for $6pesos is not one to miss.
- Scuzi... absolutely no resemblance to its Aussie namesake. It was okay but I reckon overpriced for what you are getting.
- La Opera... one we went to a few times but similar to Scuzi. Their service was good though.
Posted byAndrew at 9:11 am 0 comments
Shoes glorious shoes
Ok ... first thing first. This place is the place to be if you are a dance shoe nut! There are stores everywhere. Some are definitely better, where others may suit some dancers and not others. We have had a lot of luck over here, and have really needed to hold ourselves back a bit so that we can still fit things in our suit cases. The other option is that we buy another suitcase.... only problem is that we will be on a couple of local flights within Argentina and Brazil which may not look kindly on us with 4 suitcases.... hehe. Then again... it might be fine. Kellie has bought 5 pairs already: one from Neo Tango, one from Flabella, two from Tango Brujo and one from Comme Il Faut. I´ve been more restrained but still have a pair from Tango Leike, a pair of casual shoes from Fabio Shoes and another casual practice pair from Tango Brujo (this store is definitely one I'd go back to). There have also been a few hit and miss moments, but I need not mention those. I want to go back to Neo Tango again and see what they have in a leather soled formal shoe too.
Posted byAndrew at 9:04 am 0 comments
CITA classes - brief roundup
Monday, March 19, 2007
Wow. I'm posting this from the tail-end of our CITA workshop schedule and have had some great experiences. Quite easily the stand out teachers from our schedule have been Sebastian Arce & Mariana Montes & Chicho Frumboli and Lucia Mazer in relation to technique and ability to explain their idea of the passion behind particular movements. Adrian and Alejandra are just beautiful and I´m really sorry we didn´t do more workshops with them. Esteban and Claudia have explained things beautifully and also managed to personally attend to everyone while they were trying out the new steps and movements. Julio and Corina were very funny. I found that they didn't explain things as well as the other teachers but their classes were still fun... maybe too fun as noone really seemed to be concentrating. The noise levels for one of our Vals classes was so loud I couldnt hear the music enough to dance to it properly.
Sebastian and Mariana's as well as Chicho and Lucia's have been very well attended and have been quite hard to get space to do the steps (especially in one venue which was tiny, hot and had to accommodate more than 30 couples -- given that it was about soltadas and piernazos space was definitely at a premium). I have become more attuned to the space around me and making space if needed (in a non-violent way... although I have been kicked enough by other dancers to make me want to try a violent approach =) hehe).
The skill levels in the classes have varied greatly and has been frustrating at times where in one class a lot of the people we not getting the step so that Julio pulled the plug on the rest of the program. Even those of us who had understood the step had to concentrate on just the two or three that they´d showed us originally. Sebastian has been good but has been visibly frustrated at particular people's lack of knowledge of how to lead simple things like giros and backwards & forwards ochos. Esteban and Claudia have been very patient with people and their technique is great. Chicho's style of teaching is interesting in the sense that he is so quiet it makes you concentrate even more. In one of our musicality workshops with him and Lucia, he absolutely blew everyone away demonstrating the different ways you can dance to a rhythm with some simple steps. It was just amazing. Adrian and Alejandras class was great, but I think a few people were surprised at the level ... it was listed as Intermediate but more than likely that is what a real ¨Intermediate¨ level is like. It was challenging but the steps are beautiful.
All of the ones that we participated in has definitely given us some food for thought for dancing back in Adelaide.
We have just two CITA workshops to go now. It starts in just over an hour, so I´d better wind up and get some lunch. See you soon.
Posted byAndrew at 4:02 am 3 comments