Party

Tonight was my last night in the Big City of Argentina, and it was a good one, too. Had a big feed for dinner, following the long day without food. And enjoyed the big party that they threw on the rooftop terrace of The Clan this evening, where there was a live guest DJ, a crowded (albeit concrete patio) dance floor, and plenty of drinks to go round. When your hostel does gigs like that, who needs to go out? Indeed, I didn't end up making it to the clubs tonight, as the Clan party went on until at least 4am, conveniently located... well, upstairs :P.

Last night, we went to a crazy trance disco all night long. Tonight, the insane adventure that is "a weekend in BA" continued. No small fry clubs tonight: no sirree, tonight we hit Pacha, the biggest and the most famous of them all. Pacha is an enormous complex, a fair way north of the city centre (near the airport), that holds thousands of people on its two spacious dance floors every Saturday night, and that also regularly plays host to some of the disco world's biggest names, as weekly guest DJs. It was a big night, and an extremely fun one. Now, this is what Argentina is all about.

How to survive staying at a party hostel in BA, and going out all night long, all weekend long:

1. Wake up and head upstairs to the hostel's bar, anytime between about 11pm and midnight. Get started on the drinks and the small talk.
2. Form a group, choose a club, and head out to said club anytime between about 2am and 3am (no earlier than this — the doors won't be open yet!).
3. Party in said club until anytime between 5am and 8am (optimally, leave between 6am and 7am).
4. Arrive back at your hostel, and sleep until about midday.
5. Hang around in the afternoon, maybe have a steak or two for lunch.
6. Go back to sleep at around 6pm or 7pm.
7. Repeat steps 1-6 until the weekend is through.

Now that G-d has (hopefully) inscribed me in the Book of Life for the New Year, it's time to get back to sinful business as usual, and to hit that awesome BA party scene! Tonight, after finishing up with day two of Rosh Hashanah (and with Erev Shabbat), I returned to The Clan, and went straight up to the bar (as one does, when one is at The Clan). We the Clan crowd chilled in the bar over (more than) a few drinks, for a while; then, at about 2am, a group of 6 of us headed to the huge disco club of La Diosa (lit: "The Goddess"). I'd say we were just in time for it to open and to start seriously pumping. And seriously pump is exactly what this place did.

Tonight was Saturday night. I'm in Bariloche. And I've just finished doing seven days of intense snowboarding. I don't know what you would have done like at a time like this — but for me, the appropriate course of action seemed obvious enough. Party! Thus it was that, after dinner tonight, I went with the Patanuk crew down to Wilkenny's, an Irish pub and club in the middle of town, and one of the most popular places to rev up the night in Bariloche. Packed with overpriced imported beer, with all the usual music (well above full volume), and with many a fellow latin-dance-challenged gringo, it made for one hell of a night. ¡Viva Bariloche!

Tonight was one hell of a welcome and an introduction to Quito for me. After a sensational dinner of Thai curry chicken — on the rooftop terrace of the Secret Garden — I went out with some of the staff and fellow guests of the hostel, for a very big night on the town. The Mariscal Sucre area in the new town (otherwise known as "gringoland") is the place to go at night: and this being Friday night, it was absolutely packed with people. Can't remember what time I got home tonight, but it couldn't have been too long before the sun rose. Quite a few drinks, quite a few venues, and quite a lot of dancing. The parties never seem to end, here in Ecuador.

Do I really need to write this blog post? Considering what it was already like in the afternoon, I think it's pretty obvious what was going down in Baños tonight, and what Patrick and I got up to. Every place in "bar street" was open, and it was open all night long. Local girls. Copious drinking. Vigorous dancing. Pumping music. Get the picture? It was big — biggest night I've had in quite a while. Baños is the place to be, and this was the night to be here.

Having just gotten back here this morning, it seems that Baños is totally packed this weekend! Apparently it's a long weekend holiday all over Ecuador, so hundreds of domestic tourists (most from Quito) have flocked down here to have a party weekend. Luckily, the very basic Patty still had space for us; but I'd say that most places are fully booked until Monday. The streets are full of expensive cars; the sidewalks are chockers with rich young Ecuadorian couples and families; and the beer is overflowing at the bars, even in the middle of the day. Gonna be a big one tonight.

Today was the last day of our trip to the Madidi jungle, as well as our last day here in Rurrenabaque. After our final jungle romp this morning, and a big hearty lunch, we packed up our stuff and left our jungle campsite. We had to walk back from the campsite to the big river (another stream wade involved), and then it was another three-hour boat ride, back down the river to Rurrenabaque. When we got back, we cleaned ourselves up, relaxed in some hammocks, and then celebrated in the evening, with pizza and cocktails!

The people of Amantaní really are a great bunch. Each night, they throw a party for their gringo guests, complete with live music, traditional folk dancing, and family-size beverages. After dinner with our island family tonight, we were taken across the island (in the pitch dark) to the local hall, and partook in one of these nightly celebrations. If they really do this every night, then I have no idea how they keep it up: 'cause they sure do put on a good show.