Somos ni turistas ni porteños

We've been here eleven days and you have every right to ask, where are the tales of exciting adventure in a foreign land? Of memorable encounters with fascinating locals? Of long nights into early mornings of dining and dancing?

I'm asking the same question. The problem is somos ni turistas ni porteños, we are neither tourists nor natives.

We first visited Buenos Aires in 2006, a few months before we retired, and have come back for a month every year since. This is our third year in this very apartment, so we're on a first-name basis with los porteros, the doormen, of our building. We know the layouts of the nearest Disco and Carrefour supermarkets and can go directly to the correct aisle and shelf to get what we need.

We're taking Spanish lessons, again, from the same teacher as last year, Marco, a young university student. His classroom is in his Palermo apartment, 1.7 miles or 40 minutes away, and we walk there and back. We've tried every possible route and know most of the shops and restaurants along the way.

As familiar as we now are with life in Buenos Aires, we are still very much outsiders. Our Spanish is minimal and halting: our portero Victoriano has to speak very slowly when explaining the day's machinations of Argentine politics. This is a short-term rental apartment; we miss our own appliances and cookware, and don't bother buying oil and spices. We're not sure how to cook the interesting cuts of meat in the market.

I am a tourist -- I still love to walk around, enjoying the street scene and admiring the architecture, camera always in hand. I am a local -- while I walk I grumble about the dog poop and broken sidewalks, and don't take nearly as many snaps because I've seen it so many times before.

So what are we? Refugees with credit cards in no hurry to return home? Visitors too jaded to admire yet another beautiful belle époque building? If I figure it out, I'll let you know. Until then, here's my snaps so far. There's dogs and a penguin, people sitting in parks and crossing the street, and a short movie of a rainy day.