Decisions, Decisions

(Robert) This morning we had a meeting with our first Porteno friend, Esteban, who in addition to being a regular at our favorite local bar, Piola, is also a great travel agent. Esteban did a admirable job at helping us navigate potential paths through Mendoza, Iguazu and, ultimately, onto our final South American destination - Rio. Now all we have to do is decide upon how much money we are willing to spend. It's easy to fall into a trap of thinking "we're on our honeymoon, to hell with the cost," while failing to take into account that we're traveling for the better part of a year. Since neither of us had any luck with the lotto, we have to seriously hunker down.

Shortly after our meeting we decided to leave our decisions back at the apartment and head down to Plaza San Martin, where Esteban mentioned the World Cup games are on display for the public. To get to the square, all we had to do is continue down our street, Juncal. Cordoned off by fences and security the screening area must encompass at least a couple acres of lawn. We arrived just in time to catch the final 15 minutes of the France vs. Uruguay match on a mega high-definition LCD screen sponsored by DIRECTV and Hyundai. Since Uruguay is a close neighbor of Argentina, I tried my best to conceal to my enthusiasm for France who was clearly on the offensive. The match ultimately ended as a tie and the crowd vacated immediately upon its conclusion. I can't begin to imagine how amped this crowd will be during their home team's match against Nigeria tomorrow. Returning to Plaza San Martin for tomorrow's match is one decision that is easy to make.