Argentina Musings and Minutia

Climate change:
-Federico the refugio keeper of piltriquitron in El Bolson said 5 years ago and before never lightning storms, not part of the weather patterns but now with climate change electrical storms are happening at least once a year. I had wondered if lightning was common because on the "w" trek talk they said fire was not a normal part of the Eco system, so it made sense that they did not get lightning/lightning caused fires which is why it was so tragic when the ancient forests burned due to human-stove or cigarettes - as in Paine and near Cerro Torre.

Driving:
-Ancient cars are the norm here, must not be stringent inspections because many limp along the edges of the roads, sputtering, spewing smoke, often diesel as they are very popular here.
-Most roads in towns are still unpaved in Patagonia.
-Pedestrians don't ever seem to have the right of way.
-Only over the border in Chile were drivers courteous and stopped for us.
-Huge roundabouts some 200 feet across are common.
-As are one way streets, the street sign-if it isn't absent-will tell you the expected direction(s).
-There are a million San Martin streets here, Belgrano, Sarmiento, Moreno in every city. Again, pitting character against history lessons and homogeneity.

Trekking/climbing:
-Rain from inside a tent (carpa) always sounds like it is much heavier than it is when you get outside. Same with the wind.
-Zippers have a much shorter life span than u think. Packs, tents, jacket zippers will get wonky at the worst times - esp if you are like me, a cheap bastard, and hangs on to things too long.
-My helmet styrofoam spontaneously combusted three pitches up (while belaying, the most benign action possible) and I had to catch and stuff the pieces in my pocket - but I digress. I guess the lesson is to assess lifespan before committing with that piece of suspect mandatory and potentially irreplaceable piece of gear.

Food and drink:
-Dulce de leche is as ubiquitous as peanut butter is absent.
-I have learned to appreciate Yerba mate and the culture around it. Quite an industry w thermos, gourd, bombilla and tea sales. Hot water is free on the buses and most places give it out free as well. "Wait for the music of the mate!" Sllluurrrpp... "Ok es fin!" And apparently you cannot say gracias if you still want to get reloads as gracias means you have had enough.
-Red sauce on pizza is not popular. Generally they have no sauce. Eggs on pizza is popular. Pizza is homogenized, expect zero character beyond the expected mediocrity.
-don't come to Argentina for the cheese. It is worse than Turkish wine...
-tenedor libre (free fork) are all you can eat places. Bano libre lights up on the omnibus LED screen along with time and temp to let u know the bathroom is free. We went to a pizza libre and found out they cut you off at 12 slices...
-it's not exactly food but tampons with plastic applicators never made it over the border, we looked high and low.

Politics:
-Politically we have heard some strange things here... That Local Bariloche citizens had an election for a new mayor and pressure to vote is said to be applied by potential denial of passports for travel.
-Also in Bariloche An intense group of fire fighters for the park service blew whistles and banged on snares and other drums quite intensely, hung banners at the park headquarters in el centro for multiple mornings demanding better working conditions.
-As many as 30k were among the disappeared during the more gnarly military regime from 79 and 83. I imagine the older generation still have many scars from this era.
-Close to 10 presidents in just two weeks in 2003 I believe.
-Seeing graffiti demanding a stop to immigration and "anti-yanqi"... Seems to be an undercurrent against US policy and animosity toward Israelis in general, blaming the whole country they are from instead of the individuals (who were supposedly israeli) for the fires in the two National parks. I suppose I would find some similar negative currents within the US if I paid attention too...
-Margaret Thatcher passing was reported on the radio and seemed to make the very dower Refugio keeper smile with delight, the first and only time we witnessed any sort of mirth from him. (Graham- who is English- clued me in to this observation as we hung out in the refugio together staying dry from the storm) No love lost on the British empire as evidenced with Islas Malvinas/Falklands. I think this year marks the 30th anniversary of the "war". Thatcher's response was more intense than expected by the undertrained and ill equipped argentine army... They are still pissed. I think Britain likes the Falklands/Malvinas most as a jumping off point for their stake in the Antarctic.