After the calm came the insanity

Our day passed in Colombe del Sacramento was such an anomaly: quiet, peaceful, completely unrushed. No agenda except catching the ferry to and fro.

Not that Buenos Aires has been hectic or intense. We’ve passed our days leisurely walking, walking, walking… 

Through Palermo Soho and Palermo Hollywood, where the cafes and boutiques are supercool: independent, eclectic, arty, inspiring.

In the parks, where the trees are enormous and the dogs, tres content.

Through the streets with a mishmash of architecture that altogether give this city its great vibe.

 

But Thursday night, we went to “La Bombonera”—the 50,000-person capacity soccer stadium for the Boca Juniors.

Andrew arranged tickets through a tour company, who drove us to La Boca (the neighborhood), where the streets were writhing with fans in blue and yellow.

The cops stood guard. My lipstick and pen were confiscated, tossed into the gutter, and we entered the stadium. 

For the next four hours, we were crushed in the SRO section, tossed between sweaty, fanatical men cheering as if their lives depended on the game. And I sometimes thought my life depended on the outcome of the game.

But we survived. We survived! Even though we lost and had to wait, standing, getting jostled by the still cheering crowd for 45 minutes after the game, we survived. It’s really hard to relay how amazing that is.