It had to be the 13th of th13th...

And when the broken hearted people living in the world agree

There will be an answer, let it be

For though they may be parted, there is still a chance that they will see

There will be an answer, let it be

Let it be, let it be, let it be, yeah let it be

There will be an answer, let it be

Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be

Whisper words of wisdom, let it be

Yeah let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be

There will be an answer, let it be

Paul McCartney

Wednesday NOV13,13

And no wheat or dairy...

So we woke up in the morning and I was not on top of things. Perhaps I was lulled into a dreamlike state by the great day we had yesterday. Perhaps I was just really tired. Aodhan woke up and quickly put his pants on and ate a bag of chips and some other food. Now he was dressed and he had eaten. It was bath day, and he was in desperate need of a bath because he smelled pretty bad. He said “NO!” and ran for the door. I couldn’t let him go downstairs and bully me into not having a shower. I blocked the elevator and tole him to go back to the apartment. His eyes glowed red and he snarled at me. “You can’t stop me.” He grinned. I told him repeatedly to go back to the apartment and he lunged at me and hit me, knocking me to the floor and then kicking me again and again. I screamed and the British couple in the apartment next to me came out. I quickly filled them in on the situations, and they helped me. They blocked the elevator, and calmly told him to go back to his apartment. Luckily, the stairs door at the other end of the hallway had not registered as an escape in his head. He sat on the floor and refused to budge. I offered to negotiate that he could take everything with him, backpack, sweater, everything, in the bathroom, and eventually, after about 20 or 30 minutes, with the help of the British couple, he relented and went back to the apartment.

He showered and changed into clean clothes, and we were able to continue with our day. My knee however, was in severe pain. One of the kicks he gave me had really done some damage. Walking is not so bad. Bending my leg to sit, hurts. Going up or down steps really hurts, and rotating my ankle turns my knee and is excruciating. If there is not serious improvement in the next day or so, I will have to seek medical attention.

I went to put my bank card away, and it was gone. I only take it when I am getting money out. I must have either left it in the machine, or it must have fallen out later. Either way, it is gone. I can only hope that one of the green debit cards work. I will not find this out until I get to Uruguay.

I had a very clear talk about the consequences of an adult, which he will be soon, behaving this way with someone else. I had a very blunt talk about the fact that if he hurt me, I would not have any choice, he will not be able to live with me. Aodhan seemed genuinely remorseful for the morning. He seems to agree that his actions were inappropriate, and that he should have talked about it, not become violent.

We took a bus over to Mercado de Boca, which is a pretty touristy artsy, restaurant area where people do the tango on the patios while you eat lunch. We walked up and down a couple of streets, and then Aodhan decided to sit and wait for me on the main corner, while I walked around another street. When I got back to Aodhan, Stussy and Tamara, Greg’s business partner and his wife, were with Aodhan. I knew they were on a trip to Patagonia, but I never expected in such a big country, to run into them. We spent the day together, walking around Boca, and to the Boca Stadium. We then took the bus back across town to the clock tower, and did a walking tour from there to the Recoleta. It was pretty good, and I managed to limp along and keep up. Aodhan was really very well behaved the whole day,

I am really glad I ran into Stussy and Tamara, because I was pretty well at the end of my tether, and was beginning to randomly break into tears for no specific reason. I think I would have just come back from La Boca, and sat in the apartment for the rest of the day feeling sorry for myself.

After the tour, Stussy and Tamara had tickets for the ballet, Cinderella. We took a taxi close to the Theatre, and then Aodhan and I walked back to the restaurant near our hotel, had lunch, and then went home. I talked to the British couple for a long time, and thanked them for their help in the morning.

I tried to finish packing, but my leg hurt so much that I gave up and went to bed.

The Park up the street from my hotel

A Rodin sculpture in the park

Palacio Barolo - But it was closed for renovations, so we could not go up and get a panoramic view of the city.

Interesting architecture - just across from Palacio Barolo

Mercado del Boca

Dancers in Mercado del Boca

Surprise meeting Stussy and Tamara! They didn't even know we were in Argentina - they thought we were still in Peru. They saw Aodhan sitting and drawing ... He is quite unmistakable