Although Nomade wasn't that great of a place to stay, it certainly had some interesting guests. Though I'm not entirely sure how everyone knew each other, many of them seemed like they had been staying there for a while and perhaps their friendships extended beyond the hostel? I was kindly invited to dinner, cooked by one of the Brazilians - who claimed it was the first meal he had made in 10 years. Imagine a giant mashup of ground beef, egg, ham, cheese and pasta. It was pretty good on the way down, but once inside my stomach the fun stopped.

After dinner (and a game or two of pool), Kip and I headed up to the roof deck where some of the others hung out. The deck was huge, though a little sketchy (dark, and way too big for the number of people enjoying it). Kip and I sat at our own table playing cards until the German/Irish guy came over to berate us (in a semi-friendly manner).

"Why are you so boring?"

He tried to give us some advice regarding women, partying, and life. Outwardly I was amused. Inwardly I wondered...

For the last two days, we had been seeing posters promoting a rally at the Obelisk, just a few blocks from our hostel. Though slightly nervous, we couldn't pass up the opportunity. The Obelisk is a mini Washington Monument looking structure in the center of a rotary along the largest thoroughfare in Buenos Aires - 8 lanes in each direction! Both of us secretly hoped for some sort of conflict for us to document (Kip's amazing photography and my stellar word-smithing), but it was not to be.

The protests were pretty tame and peaceful. The riot police didn't even show up. It wasn't particularly focused either, but rather composed of a few different groups protesting various issues (running the gamut from socialist workers to anti-semites). Better than being caught in a riot I suppose!