The first stop on the second semester was Buenos Aires, Argentina. Personally Argentina met my need for solid ground, pleased my eyes with the beautiful landscape, but most importantly satisfied my growling gut. The true one and only best aspect of this land was, without a doubt, the food.

First and foremost, on the top of the food appreciation scale in Argentina were the beef products. Argentina is the world’s number one beef consuming nation for a number of suitable reasons. The abundance of beef along with a nationwide economic collapse in recent years results in quite low prices in comparison with places such as North America. Adding to this was the secret confessions of a couple Calgarians that it was in fact better than Alberta beef. Many students took full advantage of having beef every night of their stay in preparation for a month long sail to Cape Town, South Africa.

Another well sought after sustenance in Argentina was the surprising availability of gelato that was almost around every corner mainly because of the high levels of Italian immigrants. The flavours varied from tropical fruits to the always popular "Duche de Leche." Gelato availability can be related to the fact that Buenos Aires has a more European style of architecture, parks and style of doing things, as seen in the many statues and monuments that lie all over the city. The gelato will be sorely missed by all crew.

A type of tea called mate was also very popular in Argentina as a cultural experience. It is composed of crushed tea leaves which are placed in oval decorative cups. It is then drank with a special straw that acts like a filter, leaving the leaves in the cup while drinking the beverage. Some students bought large quantities of mate for the rest of the sail... the drink's high caffeine intake could prove to be useful on Concordia.

My own personal best food experience was a tangle with a 20 ounce T bone Steak. When a piece of meat is spectacularly spiced, oozing ruby red with a taste that gives you a feeling of utter satisfaction, you know it’s good. Restaurants in Argentina were rather unique, serving complimentary bread at every sit down meal but charging a table tax as well, even for the service out. It was also odd to be in rather "fancy" place and expecting Argentinean cultural music but instead listening to "We are the Champions" and a fair share of Bob Marley. At the end of our stay we had full satisfied stomachs, which I for one will return down the road to refill.