Just follow the big afro.

As I've already admitted, I have no sense of direction.  People who know me well can verify this.

Buenos Aires is home to about 1/3 of this country's total population.  I think the current population is estimated at 13 million people-- this includes the surrounding suburbs.  My beloved Boston contained about 650,00 people in 2009.  I am also no good at math, but I think that means Buenos Aires is about 20 times larger than my hometown.

So today I set out with my trusty map to try and find an outdoor pool that ex-pat folks recommend.  I think it's about 20 minute walk from my apartment in Las Canitas section of the city.  50 minutes later, sweating profusely, I find myself further from the supposed pool than when I started.  I stop, get out my nerdy tourist map, and reconnoiter.  I'm way off the mark, so I decide to take a scenic route home and search for the pool another day.... what hubris!  Another hour later, I have taken quite a tour of my neighborhood and the next neighborhood and the... well, you get the point.

In her book Traveling Mercies, Anne Lamott wrote about her pastor who, as a child, got lost in her hometown and the police picked her up (this was clearly before the days of social services).  She didn't know her address or how to get to her house, so they drove her around town until she recognized her church and had them drop her off-- she knew exactly how to get home from there.  For Lamott, this was meant to illustrate that the church can be a central part of a child's life-- a spiritual home, that is.

Today I wandered through Belgrano and Barrio Chino and Las Canitas until I saw the outline of a cartoon black guy with silver sunglasses and a sizeable afro.  This is the facade of Soul Cafe.  Soul Cafe is right next to my apartment building.  From now on, I'm just going to follow the big afro....  I can get home from there.