Bahia Blanca ...at dawn

---

Saturday 3rd Nov:
yesterday was a fairly lazy day; apart from a stroll down 9th July Ave and buying a much needed Spanish/Eng dictionary in Florida Ave, I just read for most of the day (one of Michael Murpurgos books). I said my goodbyes at the hostel and got a taxi to the coach station - a mistake- as I could have walked just as quickly (because of traffic), and yet another argument with the taxi-driver who tried to overcharge me. It was chaotic at the coach station with more than 30 platforms and I was told that my coach would be anywhere between platforms 4 and 14. It didnt help with the coach arriving 10 mins after it should have left! Anyway, I had a good seat on the coach - right at the front on the top deck - and we had a really tasty meal on the journey. However I found it difficult to get comfortable, as it was a bumpy ride, and consequently only got a few hours sleep.

The coach pulled into Bahia Blanca just on six; dawn looked good over the city. I had a cup of coffee in the station cafe while I waited for the tourist information to open. Again they were very helpful and I booked a hotel right in the centre of the city (reasonable and a step up from the hostels). I settled in, had a few hours sleep and a shower. ´Wandered around the central area of the city but got a shock when I walked out of the hotel to find that the temperature had dropped considerably. My light clothing and sandals were inappropriate and I soon had to beat a hasty retreat goosepimpled to the hotel to change into some warmer clothes. ´Had a Milanese for lunch - meat in breadcrumbs - tasted good. ´Phoned Raul Ayude (friend of Alicia and Principal of a local school) who picked me up from the hotel and took me for a tour around the port, the old railway museum amd the suburbs of the city. We conversed mainly in English as his English is much better than my Spanish. He phoned me afterwards at the hotel inviting me on a day trip tomorrow to see the mountains.

---

Photos

Goodbye Buenos Aires
The 9thJuly Ave - the main drag in B.A. - 6 lanes of traffic each way plus 3 lanes on each of the supplementary roads either side of the main one... a relentless flow of vehicles.

Central Bahia Blanca
Overlooking the central park with the Town Hall in the background.

Municipal Theatre
Just off the central square is the city´s main theatre.

The Cathedral
Another impressive building on the main square.

Inside the Cathedral
I was just in time for the beginning of a First Holy Communion Service of the local children; hence the large congregration.
The interior of the building was tastefully decorated.

The Railway Museum
One of the places visited with Raul on Saturday afternoon was a railway museum down by the port. Many of the artefacts there were manufactured in the UK, including this old clock which has Croydon, London printed on it.