I just got back from reffing a men's game in their National League here. Thanks to my friend Alex S., I got in touch with a local referee who hooked me up with a game tonight, so at 6:30 I jumped in a cab and headed for San Telmo, an older Barrio that's been gentrified and has become one of the spots to visit in the city. Although it was already dark I enjoyed seeing new parts of the city as I drove to the pool. The most beautiful was Avenida de 9th de Julio (another possible butchering of Castellano) which commemorates Argentina's Independance Day. There's a large obelisk that the looks a lot like the Washington Monument (well, it's an obelisk, so that's not saying much) in the middle of what seemed like 6-8 lanes going in both directions. It's Saturday night, so many people were out on the town and things were hopping. The pool was on a cobblestone street, in a workers' union building. It wasn't much of a pool - the other ref told me there are better pools elsewhere, one at River Platte and another somewhere else I couldn't understand - but I was just happy that once again water polo took me someplace new to meet new people (and none of them threw anything my way during the game).
The game went well. By the end they were asking me if I could come back again, so assuming that's not so they can throw huevos or tomates that they neglected to bring tonight, I'll try to see other parts of the city while continuing to whistle and stay active. After the cab rides there and back, and the bottle of water I bought at the kiosko on the corner, I came out 10 pesos in the black, which buys a decent bottle of wine so I'm happy. Next time maybe I can take the Subte (I don't know what to capitalize and what I shouldn't, so I'm deciding arbitrarily) and save for a loaf of pan (bread doesn't deserve a "P") and a bigger water bottle.
Sitting in the stands watching the game before mine (and wondering what in the world I had gotten myself into) I was thinking about all the places I've seen through water polo (unfortunately I didn't get a picture of the pool - way too dark for the iphone camera - you'll have to just imagine it). I never thought I'd end up standing in an inch-and-a-half of water on a narrow pool deck in Buenos Aires when I took my first dive into the UH pool back in 1981. I'm a very lucky guy.
~m
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