I had wanted to visit Argentina ever since I saw a race on the ITU website but I couldn't get flights in 2003, as Jan & Feb are peak times to travel to Latin America.  This year I got in early enough to get flights, but the scheduling was terrible.  Instead of going from New Zealand across to South America, I had to head back to Australia and then up to LA then across to Miami, down to Buenos Aires and finally up to Santa Fe....thankfully the trip was well worth it.  Beth Carlson (USA triathlete) who I had traveled with before and had visited us in HK last year, was also doing the race so I was able to meet her at home in LA.  It was so nice to have someone to travel with as I had spent most of last year in planes and hanging around airports on my own.

I arrived in LA in the morning and headed over to Seal Beach where Beth lives, so I could do a short run.  It is amazing how bad you feel as an athlete, when you have been stuck on planes for nearly 24hrs but that wasn't as bad as my legs felt.  I must have looked like some crippled granny as I ran along at a snail's pace but at least I was moving and in some fresh air.  Beth had only got married the weekend before so we were taking her honeymoon together and her poor husband (Danny) was left at home to fend for himself! How romantic...........seriously though, they are planning a strictly non-triathlon honeymoon for later in the year despite my attempts to get them to the Phuket triathlon in Nov.

Our flight to Miami was pretty un-eventful and we met up with Cami & Brendan (2 other USA athletes at the Miami gate.  Beth and I quickly gobbled up some sleeping pills to make sure we didn't eat yet another plane meal that we didn't need! Hopefully we would also get some much needed sleep, as this was my second night in a row on a plane.  We were like sleeping babies until about 5hrs into the flight when a drunken American decided it would be a really smart move to head-butt one of the flight attendants! All havoc broke out with everyone wanting to get involved or watch the entertainment and they eventually arrested and handcuffed him.  This didn't seem to calm him down as he spent the rest of the flight jumping up and down screaming obscenities.  I guess he didn't want to ever fly again, well except for free trip he received straight back to the USA under arrest!  Thankfully the staff still managed to serve us breakfast before landing, while dodging round this lunatic. 

I am not sure what I expected Argentina to be like but I guess I was thinking along the lines of Brazil or Mexico as opposed to Spain, France or Portugal.  As our bus drove through town, I was amazed how like Paris the town looked with the most beautiful architecture and cafe's on every street corner.  We made the decision, a trip into town was a must on our way back, as we had another 11hr layover.  I also surprised how clean the place was and it seemed much more affluent than the rest of Latin America and also Asia.  We checked into our domestic flight and found our hotel for the day and they pointed us in the direction of the local pool. How hard could a 30minute swim workout be?

We found the pool and cycling facility without too much trouble but couldn't get into the place for love nor money...until we finally found a hole in the fence.  To cut a long story short, we were sent from pillar to post trying to find out where to pay and get into the pool.  Our lack of Spanish obviously wasn't helping but we eventually found ourselves shut in this small white room in our swimsuits waiting for medical clearance!  The Dr came in and after checking our toes, fingers, necks & armpits, declared us fit to swim......phew, what a relief - it would have been a long way to come to be told otherwise!  As Beth said, "If they are that worried about some disease, I'm not sure I still want to swim!"  I must admit, I was getting to the point of abandoning the idea...you know what it's like when you really don't feel like doing a session but if you have to, you just want to get going and everything seems to be working against you to delay the session.  Once I was in though, the water was really refreshing and it felt great to finally get some exercise in, although my arms felt like they had been run over by a steamroller.  

After a short nap back at the hotel, we were soon on our way back to the domestic airport for the 40minute flight into Santa Fe.  We were greeted off the place by kisses and hugs from two women from La Paz who had come to meet us...wow, if everyone is this friendly, we were in for a good weekend.  I was expecting a bus trip, but not a 3.5hr one over roads that resembled a mountain bike trail.  Argentine time is very similar to Phillipino time, so when we were told 30minutes to go.......we were still driving through the night over an hour later!  After what seemed like weeks of travel, we finally pulled up at a beautiful old town house at midnight and a large family were waiting on the doorstep, as if on parade.  It was pretty surreal as we were greeted again by hugs and kisses, as if Beth and I were long lost family.  

After sleeping in, we staggered out the door for a run to loosen up the legs but we must have looked like a pair of old women.  As we ran past transition, which was being set up for the kids race taking place later that afternoon, a few people asked us if we were racing Elite.....I nearly laughed out loud, as we must have looked far from Elite as we huffed and puffed our way up this little hill. On returning to the house, we soon realized we were going to be spoilt rotten for the next few days.  Victor Plata (USA athlete) had put me in touch with his friend Diego Ramus back in November and he had arranged for us to stay with his parents.  It was great as Diego and his brother were back in La Paz for the summer holiday from Uni, and with their parents were all running round to make sure we had everything we could possibly need.  We tried to help with the cleaning up after meals on numerous occasions, only to be chased out of the kitchen by Monica (Diego's Mum). 

The next couple of days were wonderful as we enjoyed the great Argentina weather and hospitality while we did some light training and rested before the race.  The food was unbelievable and we had a family lunch and dinner everyday, which was always filled with stories and laughter.  The most memorable was the night before the race, when we had a house full of other family members and Papa Ramos cooked a whole lamb from their farm over an open BBQ on the patio.  This is the traditional cooking method in Argentina and the meat tastes out of this world.  I know for sure that I will never be able to order lamb in a restaurant again, as it will be such a disappointment compared to the lamb that night.  Beth and I had quickly settled into the lifestyle......sleeping until 10am, some training followed by lunch and then siesta time (my favorite time!) and a little more training, then dinner at 10pm. I haven't been going to bed at midnight for years but the whole way of life here is so relaxing we could have stayed for weeks.  Roll on race day.......

Later, Claire

Diego, Beth & I cooking in the garden: