Farewell Clan, farewell BA

After almost two weeks in BA, staying at The clan, my time here has finally come to a close. This afternoon, I had my final lunch with Oly, my final chat with the Swedish chick, and my final bit of hanging out at the bar. I've had a blast here, but I think it's also about time I was moving on. And now that the Jewish New Year events are all wrapped up, there's nothing holding me here anymore.

To tell the truth, I think I stayed here a bit too long. In BA, and at The Clan. BA's a great city, no doubt about it; but really, there's only so much all-night and into-the-morning partying you can do. Some people really can do nothing else, except drinking and sitting on bar stools, for weeks on end. Personally, I get a bit bored of it after a few nights. And here in BA, there really isn't much else to do (unless you're working or studying here, of course). No beaches, no real must-see city sights, and not that much in nearby neighbouring towns. Plus, the weather's been pretty crap, the whole time I've been here — and the city's air is fairly polluted — making it a bit unpleasant to just walk around and stroll the city for too long.

The Clan's good fun if you want to meet lots of fellow gringos, and party every night. But two weeks was probably over-doing it at this place, for me. The novelty wears thin after a while. And the smoke at this place is also really disgusting: not only does the upstairs bar reek (and it has almost no ventilation, either); people also smoke in the reception area, in the hallways, and even in the kitchen! Thank G-d there's no smoking in the dorm rooms themselves — but apart from that, the entire hostel is a giant ashtray.

One thing I've learned on this trip, is that you never regret anywhere you go, or anything you do. You only regret not going to more places, and not doing more things. That's how I feel about the past week. It was relaxing being in BA, and having a good time: but between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, I could have gotten out and seen someplace else: I could have gone south to Puerto Madryn, to do some whale-watching; or or I could have gone north to Córdoba; or I could have hopped on a boat across the river, to somewhere in Uruguay. But I didn't. Not that I had any huge desire to visit any of these places — but still, it couldn't have hurt, either.