October, 2008 Trip to Argentina

Here is the famous Plaza de Mayo, which features the Piramide de Mayo, a large obelisk, and the Casa Rosado ("red house"), which is the Argentine presidential palace.
Even though I tend to get my news off the Internet when I travel, I enjoy reading the local papers. Note the article about the endoresement of Barack Obama by Colin Powell on the front page of the BA Herald that happened the day before!
While reading the paper, I indulged in one of my favorite Argentine delicacies, dulce la leche. It is a caramel-like concoction of sugar and milk, and tastes great in a pancake with ice cream.
We took an overnight side trip to Iguazu Falls, one of most incredible natural wonders of the world. There are 275 falls along 1.67 miles of the Iguazu River, which straddles the border between Argentina and Brazil. It took a two-hour flight from BA to get there.
Here are Sally and I with the falls behind us.
Information anyone, from an informatics specialist? A booth near Iguzau Falls.
Back in BA, we visited the famous Recoleta Cemetery, where many of BA's rich and famous families are buried. However, the most well-known grave in the cemetery is that of Eva Peron (Evita), whose burial here was controversial because she was not from a wealthy family.
Another well-known site in BA is the Floralis Generale, a massive flower whose petals open in the morning and close at night.
Also a landmark in BA is the Obelisco on the broad Avenida de 9 Julio, the largest boulevard in the city.
We also attended a barbeque dinner party at the home of Daniel Luna of the Department of Medical Informatics at Hospital Italiano. Daniel is the center person standing in the back. Sitting in front of him to the left is Paula Otero, also of the Department of Medical Informatics at Hospital Italiano and the Chair of the conference. To the left of her are Peter Murry of England, his wife Liz, Sally, and Alejandro Mauro. Farthest to the right is Steve Bedrick, an OHSU graduate student.
Two vegetarians sitting in front of the meat ... but don't despire, they have their veggie dish!
Another favorite BA spot of mine is Reserva Ecologica, an ecological reserve on the waterfront that is a great escape from the noise and pollution of BA. It is especially good for running.
Another side trip we took was a one-hour ferry ride to Colonia, Uruguay. The Barrio Historico (historic quarter) section of Colonia was fought over by the Portuguese and Spanish over the centuries and is seen here.
In the Barrio Historico is a famous lighthouse that sits in front of older ruins from 17th century Convent of San Francisco.
You can climb to the top of the lighthouse, and from here you can overlook both the Barrio Historico and the rest of the city, which includes a long stretch of very nice beach. The twin spires are the Basilica del Sanctísimo Sacramento (the Basilica of the Holy Sacrament), built by the Portuguese in 1808.
On Sunday, we went to the famous San Telmo market, where many artisans and antique collectors peddle their wares and, as seen here, some people give street demonstrations of the Tango.
Here I am in front of the Palacio de Congreso, the Argentine capital. My Barack t-shirt was quite popular among people on the street, and I am sure he would carry Argentina (like most other countries!) if they could vote.
The attendees of the IMIA Education Working Group meeting in front of Hospital Italiano.
The residents and faculty of the medical informatics residency at Hospital Italiano.
Dinner with some international leaders in the field. From left to right: Dr. Antoine Geissbuhler (Switzerland), Chairman, Division of Medical Informatics, Geneva University Hospital and IMIA W.H.O. Liaison Officer; Dr. Don Detmer (US), President and CEO, AMIA; Dr. Reinhold Haux (Germany), President, IMIA; Dr. Alvaro Margolis (Uruguay), IMIA Vice President for Latin American Countries; and me.