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You can't say you've been to Argentina (or to South America, for that matter), until you've seen some live fútbol here. Tonight, I went off with the Clan crew to fulfil this sacred Latin backpacker's duty: we visited the stadium of the famous Boca Juniors, and watched Boca kick the a$$es off of São Pablo (a Brazilian team). It was a pretty easy victory for Boca, who beat their Portugese-speaking rivals 2-1. And as for the fans, with whom we were packed in at one of the (standing-room only) spectator areas: they were absolutely wild. Even if you're not crazy about fútbol, you still gotta go and see a Boca's game — it's a sight in itself, being chucked into the middle of a crowd for whom fútbol es la vida, y la vida es fútbol.

Sebastian's an easy-going traveller from Germany, who's got a massive blonde afro on his head, and who's hanging out in Buenos Aires for the week. Although he's not staying at The Clan — he's at one of the Israeli hostels, along with two girls he's travelling with — he pops into the bar every night, and he can be seen hanging around pretty much all the time. He's also a big fan of the fútbol in Argentina.

Buenos Aires is the most Jewish city in Latin America, and one of the only places on this continent where you can find kosher restaurants lining the streets, and orthodox Jews roaming the sidewalks. As part of my bike tour of BA today, I also included a tour of "kosher street" — otherwise known as "busca al yok" (lit: "spot the yok") :P. Just as Sydney has O'Brien St in Bondi, and Melbourne has Carlyle St in Caulfield, so too does BA have Calle Tucumán in Once. Everything Jewish you could ever want is here: religious bookstores; orthodox schools and kindergartens; and best of all, kosher parrillas (steak houses)! Dad, if you ever visit BA, now you'll know where to go.

For the first time since I arrived here in BA — over a week ago — today it stopped raining, and the sun came out! Yay — good weather at last (it's been wet and freezing all week, until now). So with the sun finally shining, I decided it was time to immediately seize the day, by seizing one of the free bikes that they have at The Clan, and to take myself on a bike tour around the city. As Master Yoda would say: "good this weather finally is, so ride a bicycle you must".

I've been meaning to go to the dentist down here in South America for some time. In many countries around here, the service is incredibly cheap, and also quite professional. Seeing as The Clan has some brochures for a good dental practice here in BA — and seeing that I didn't have much else planned for today — I decided that it was a good time to pay the dentist a visit. The place I went to was Dental Argentina: very friendly and English-speaking people there; and quality, affordable work on your teeth, to keep 'em nice and sparkly. Plus, it can all be claimed back later, on ye 'ol comprehensive travel insurance.

I ordered this dish (en Español: "ñoqui de cuatro estaciones") at a little café this evening, where I went for dinner with Oly, Michal and Or. Not only were the gnocchi balls themselves sensational: the sauce was also the richest and the tastiest cheese sauce I've ever eaten. They obviously used some very fine, European "smelly cheeses" in the sauce — and the result was out of this world. Mmm, gnocchi: "contigo, la vita é bella".

Most Israelis in BA choose to stay in one of about three "Israeli hostels", where they don't have to meet anyone else, and where they might as well never have left Ha Aretz at all. Michal and Or are in the small (but very nice!) minority that have chosen not to do this: they're currently the only two Israelis staying at Clan. Great guys: they refuse to come with me to shul for the High Holy Days; but they don't mind going for a beer or a good feed now and then.

Good news for all of you that like to check the map of the places I've visited: our friends at Google announced on Friday that they have just added coverage of 54 new countries to Google Maps! Of these new countries, quite a lot are in the Latin American region — this means that almost all the countries I've been to (and plotted on my map) now have proper coverage. So if you look at the "locations" page on this site now, you should get a pleasant surprise: all those red dots on the map are no longer in a sea of empty white; you can actually view them in their proper context. I discovered this cool improvement today, and I'm very impressed with how it looks. Thanks, Google Maps team, and keep up the good work!

Picked up this cheesy pair of chef's fashion accessories at the San Telmo market this afternoon. The apron has a little boy-and-girl cartoon couple drawn on it. The hat has "Argentina" proudly embossed on its brim, and is about ½ a foot high when puffed up fully. This purchase may not make me a better cook; but at least I'll now look the part. Will be mandatory uniform, for next time I'm cooking the steaks at a Sunday BBQ. Now, who ordered medium-rare? :P

It was a bit of a slow start to the day, today being Sunday, and last night having been such a big one. But eventually, Oly and I managed to haul ourselves out of our hostel, and off for some afternoon lunch and some exploration of the city. We ended up in San Telmo: the quaint and quirky artists' area of BA, and home of a sprawling Sunday market. San Telmo's my favourite neighbourhood, out of everywhere I've seen so far in BA: both the buildings and the people are filled with character; there are great places to eat and to shop; and it almost feels like being in, say, Montmarte in Paris. Was also a good, not-too-demanding place to hang out and to wear off the effects of last night.